Bound By Love (Book 2 of the Bound Series)
by chello8893
Summary: (Book 2) After six long years, Gajeel and Levy are finally reunited-along with their son, Silas. And trouble is awaiting them upon their return. A new demon has appeared, seeking revenge for crimes committed against him years before. When Demon Hunters become the hunted, and tragedy strikes Fairy Tail, Gajeel and Levy's love will be tested beyond anything they've ever faced before.
1. Prologue

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me as soon as my feet hit the ground from the train. After so long, why now? Why was everything suddenly happening _now_?!

People knew who I was—I was hard to miss being taller than most people—and rushed out of my way as they saw me running. I was sure the news had reached Magnolia first, so the sad looks people were giving me weren't all that surprising. I didn't pay any attention to them. I just kept running.

When I saw the Fairy Tail flag up ahead, I knew I was finally close to headquarters. My heart was beating so fast that I thought I might have a heart attack before I even got there.

No, I had to be the strong one right now. Even though my throat felt tight, and my eyes stung, I had to keep it together.

I didn't slow up as I reached the doors, and threw them open as I ran inside. My red eyes searched the room, looking for the only person I wanted—_needed _—to see.

"Gajeel," Master Makarov said, his eyes dark with sadness as he looked at me. Even after I had been the head of the hunter's council for four years, master still called me by my name. Everyone in Fairy Tail did, and I appreciated it. I hated being called "councilman Redfox".

"Where is she?" I asked. He would know who I meant.

"In there," Master sighed, pointing towards the infirmary.

I rushed to the doors, but paused with my hand on the doorknob. Honestly, I was afraid. After six long years of being apart, we had finally come back together as a family. And now—I took a deep breath. _If I had just stayed away, this wouldn't have happened. They could have stayed in hiding, but I brought them back into the spotlight._

Slowly, I opened the infirmary doors and went inside. I spotted her immediately. She was laying with her head on the mattress, resting on her folded arms. Her blue hair was laying around her, and I noticed some of it was slightly purple—stained from blood.

"Levy," I said, quietly.

"G-Gajeel," she whispered, lifting her head at the sound of my voice. My legs nearly gave out at the sight of her. While on the train I had somehow fooled myself into thinking this whole thing had just been a joke, that none of it was real. But now, looking at her, I could no longer deny the truth.

Her left eye was swollen completely shut, and the skin surrounding it was a horrible yellow-purple color from the newly forming bruise. Her cheeks had abrasions all over them, and there was a larger cut right under her swollen eye. Her bottom lip was busted, too.

She ran to me, and I put my arms around her, holding onto her tightly when she began sobbing. "G-Gajeel," she chocked, "they—they—" She cut off, unable to finish.

For the first time since entering the room, I looked down at the bed she had been sitting beside. I felt my chest constrict, and I had to close my eyes.

After six long years, I had finally gotten the love of my life back—along with the most wonderful son anyone could ask for. And only a short time after bringing them back to Fairy Tail, that short-lived happiness was crumbling around me.

Laying there on the bed was Silas. His face was just as bad as Levy's. His small body looked even smaller against the white sheets he was laying on. The only difference between their injuries was the large claw wound.

Going straight through his chest.

**Hey there! Thanks so much for checking out Bound By Love! Just to make sure-this is the second book in the series! The first book is titled "Bound By Hate"! (: **

**On a random, self-promotion note: if you're on Tumblr, you should totally follow me! I bet you can't guess my username! (I'll give you a hint...it's exactly the same as this one. XD)**

**Happy reading! ^_^/**


	2. 1: Going Home

**_~Levy~_**

I took a deep breath as I boarded the train with Gajeel and Silas. After two wonderful weeks with Gajeel, he would soon have to return to his duties as head of the hunters' council. We both decided that returning to Fairy Tail would be best, though I was nervous about going back.

I had stayed away for six long years, so I had no idea what to expect. I was excited to meet Natsu and Lucy's daughters—Gajeel told me they had three—and to see everyone after so long. I knew deep in my heart that nothing would have changed, though. Fairy Tail would never change. No matter how much time I had been away, I knew they would welcome me back as if I had never left.

"Ngh," Gajeel groaned when the train jumped forward. He collapsed against the window, and I laughed as his face turned green.

"Here," I smiled, patting my lap. He didn't argue, and fell over, groaning again as I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Mama?" Silas asked, tugging on my sleeve.

"Yes?" I looked over at him, and gasped when I noticed his face was also slightly green.

"I—I don't feel good," he complained, holding his stomach.

"My poor baby," I cooed, wrapping my arm around him and pulling him close to my side. "Just try to sleep until we get there. I'm sorry." I had never taken Silas on the train, so I never knew if he also had motion sickness like Gajeel. As it turned out, he did.

I sighed at the two of them, unable to keep the smile from my lips. Silas was nearly identical to Gajeel. Every day I spent with them together, I found something else that they shared. From their love of food and cats, to even their motion sickness.

The only thing they didn't share was Gajeel's love for fighting. Like me, Silas would rather read a book than go into battle.

_Battle._ I let out a long breath and looked out the window. _I'm going back to a hunters' guild, so I'll have to decide if I want to become a hunter again._ After what had happened with Astaroth, I had given up demon hunting. I hadn't even held a gun since I left Fairy Tail.

"Now arriving in Magnolia Station," the intercom voice announced. I roused Gajeel and Silas as the train slowed and finally stopped.

"We're here," I told Silas, gently shaking him.

"Tired," he whined, burying his face in my side.

"I'll carry him," Gajeel chuckled.

"I've got him," I smiled, lifting the small boy. "Will you get the bags?"

"Sure thing, Shrimp," he grinned, watching me carry Silas off the train. Although he was only five, he had inherited Gajeel's size, and was quite heavy.

"Here," Gajeel sighed as we walked. He transferred our luggage into one hand, and took Silas with the now free arm. Grumbling in his sleep, Silas wrapped his arms around Gajeel's neck, and used his shoulder as a pillow.

"I could have carried him," I pouted, reaching for the luggage.

"I've got it, Shrimp," Gajeel chuckled, walking away before I could grab it. .

As we walked towards Fairy Tail, my stomach tied itself into a tight knot. _What if they aren't happy that I've returned? What if they're mad at me for leaving? What if—_

"Shrimp, you okay?" Gajeel asked.

I had stopped walking, and was clutching the hem of my shirt in tight fists. "Is this a bad idea?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"What if Fairy Tail doesn't want me back? I—I left with barely a goodbye, so maybe they don't want me to come back."

"That's just stupid," Gajeel huffed. "Of course they want you to come back. That damned blonde hasn't shut up about you since I told them I was going to look for you."

"They know I'm coming?" I asked.

He grinned. "I sent a letter about a week ago."

I frowned. "A week ago? But, we just decided to go back yesterday."

"Gihi."

I smiled. "You had no intentions of leaving me, did you?"

"Nope," he chuckled. "I would 'a kidnapped ya if I had to."

Rolling my eyes, I started towards Fairy Tail once more. "You're pretty cocky, you know that?"

"Damn right," he nodded, smirking. "I have a beautiful son and a sexy-ass girlfriend, why shouldn't I be cocky?"

"You—" I was cut off when something flew into me, sending me to the ground. "Oww," I moaned, frowning when Gajeel actually _laughed_. I gasped, realizing what had crashed into me. "Lily!" I squealed, wrapping my arms around him.

He pulled away, clearing his throat. "I'm happy that you have finally returned," he said.

I giggled, scratching his ear. "I missed you, too, Lily."

"Mommy?" Silas yawned, rubbing his eyes.

Lily looked up at Silas, and his eyes widened. "You have a son?" He asked, shocked.

"You didn't tell anyone about Silas?" I asked Gajeel.

He grinned. "I wanted to surprise everyone."

"Kitty!" Silas exclaimed once he spotted Lily. He wiggled until Gajeel put him down, then hugged Lily. "He's so cute! Can we keep him?" The cat Silas had found two weeks earlier had been claimed by a family, so we returned him to his rightful owners. Since then, he had been looking forward to the promise Gajeel made him about getting another cat.

"Silas, this is Pantherlily," I said. "He's going to live with us."

"Is that a sword?" Silas gasped, pointing to the sword on Lily's back after he finally released him.

"Lily is a warrior Exceed," Gajeel said, proudly.

"A warrior?" Silas asked, looking at Lily in awe. "You fight bad guys like daddy?"

"Would you like to see something cool?" Lily smiled, drawing his sword.

"Yeah!"

I giggled, watching Silas shout in joy when Lily transformed. "You're so big! The biggest cat ever!" He jumped up and down, his entire face bright with joy.

"Show off," Gajeel huffed.

"Jealous?" I smirked.

"Daddy, can I learn to fight, too?" Silas asked.

He glanced at me, then crouched down and patted Silas on the head. "Maybe when you're older."

"Watch what I can do, though!" Silas closed his eyes and scrunched his face up, concentrating hard.

Gajeel looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "What is he—"

"Just watch," I told him, knowing what Silas was about to do.

Very slowly, his skin turned silver, and iron scales formed over his skin. Panting, he opened his eyes. "See? See? I can turn into a dragon!"

"No dragon is complete without his wings, though," Gajeel told him, smiling at Lily. With a nod, the now small Exceed grabbed Silas and took off, flying above the crowd.

"Wait!" I gasped, running after them. "Lily, be careful!"

"Silas will be fine," Gajeel chuckled, running beside me.

"It still makes me nervous," I mumbled.

"Gihi, don't worry, Shrimp."

Lily landed in front of the doors at Fairy Tail. Silas's hair was sticking up in every direction, and his face was flushed from the wind. "Again!" He giggled. His scales disappeared as he looked at us.

"Maybe later," I said. "We're going to meet the rest of mommy and daddy's family now."

"Fine," he sighed, grabbing my hand.

Lily took our luggage, telling Gajeel we would take it home. _Home_. I smiled.

"Ready?" Gajeel asked.

Nervous again, I nodded. I took a deep breath as the guildhall doors opened. Before I could even get a good look into the guildhall, there were arms around me.

"Levy!" Lucy cried. "I've been so worried about you! I missed you so much!"

"Sorry, Lu-chan," I told her, feeling tears of my own soak my cheeks.

"You're back for good now, right?" She sniffed, pulling away so she could look at me. I met her brown eyes and nodded, smiling when she burst into tears again and pulled me into another hug.

"Mommy!" I heard someone squeal. "Mommy, look! Uncle Gajeel brought a cousin home, too!" A girl with pink hair smiled, pointing to Silas.

"What?" Lucy let go of me and looked down, gasping when she saw Silas. He was hiding behind me, clutching onto my shirt tightly. She looked back up at me. "You have a son?"

"I do," I smiled.

"So, that's why you didn't get your memory erased," Natsu said, squatting in front of Silas. "Hey, kid! Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

"Th-Thank you," Silas whispered.

"He looks just like you," Natsu grinned, looking at Gajeel. "Poor kid."

"Say that again, Salamander," Gajeel growled.

Lucy chuckled. "Some things never change."

"I'm glad," I grinned.

"Mommy! I want to say hi too!" The pink-haired girl announced, tapping Lucy on the side.

"Go ahead," Lucy smiled.

The small girl looked up at me and gave me a grin that mirrored Natsu's perfectly. "Hello, Auntie Levy. I'm Nashi! I'm six years old, and when I grow up, I'm going to marry Uncle Gray."

"To hell that's happening!" Natsu declared. "Ain't no way that damned stripper is going to marry my daughter!"

"Nashi _adores_ Gray," Lucy whispered as Natsu continued ranting. "Natsu hates it, but it's adorable. She tells him all the time that she's going to be his wife someday."

"And how does Gray feel about it?" I giggled.

"Of course he adores her, but there's a little problem in her plan."

"What's that?"

"He married Juvia about two years ago," she laughed. "Nashi was devastated, but got over it and announced that she would just be his second wife."

"Oh my God," I snickered. "Poor Gray."

"I know!"

"Hey, little Gajeel," Nashi said, smiling at Silas, "how old are you?"

"Five," he said, never moving from his hiding place behind my legs.

"He's the same age as Layla!" Nashi smiled at Lucy.

"Layla?" I asked.

"Our second daughter. She was playing with Happy, so she's around here somewhere."

"Up here!" There was a delighted squeal, and then something fell from the sky. Lucy reached out just in time to catch a small blonde girl.

"Layla!" Lucy breathed, "what did I tell you about doing that?!"

"But it's fun!" She giggled. When she saw Silas, she jumped out of Lucy's arms and pulled Silas into a hug. "Mommy, he's so cute! I love him!" Gajeel burst into laughter as Natsu fell over, defeated.

Silas escaped her grasp and went to the other side of me, blushing furiously.

"Leave Silas alone," Lucy chuckled. "He's still getting used to it here."

"Fine," she huffed.

"Your daughters are beautiful," I told Lucy as the two girls ran off to play.

"So is Silas," Lucy smiled. "We still have another daughter for you to meet, too. Wendy was playing with her, so we'll find them later. Come one, let's go say hi to everyone!"

I looked up at Gajeel as Lucy led me into the crowd now standing around us. "Go on, Shrimp. I've got Silas." I nodded and followed Lucy.

There were many more tears as I was passed around from hug to hug. Everyone looked a little older, but it was still the same old Fairy Tail. Jet and Droy practically had to be pried away when it was their turn to hug me.

"I'm so happy to see everyone," I sniffed, wiping my face.

"And we're glad to have you back," Master smiled. He stood on the table and held up a mug of beer. "To Levy and Silas!"

"To Levy and Silas!" Everyone cheered.

By the end of the party, Silas had come out of his shell and was playing with Lucy's daughters. I met the youngest, a pink-haired girl named Penelope, halfway through the party when Wendy arrived with her. I noticed that she and Romeo were holding hands, and it made me smile.

Actually, it seemed as though everyone had finally gotten together during my absence. Gray and Juvia were married. Elfman and Evergreen were sitting with their one-year-old daughter, Katherine. Romeo and Wendy were always together. Laxus and Mirajane were sitting with their four-year-old son, Nate. Erza and Jellal had gotten married only a few months after I left.

"The place is filled with even more happiness now," I told Gajeel as we walked home that night. "Even Happy and Carla got together! And their kitten is so cute!" The three-year-old Exceed looked exactly like Happy, except his feet and hands were all tipped with white, like little boots and gloves.

"Are you happy to be back?" He asked, adjusting a sleeping Silas in his arms.

"I am," I nodded. "I think Silas likes it, too."

"Minus that demon-child," Gajeel chuckled.

"Layla is adorable," I giggled, punching him in the arm. She had practically forced Silas to come out of his shell by dragging him along with her everywhere. "He didn't say much, but I could tell he liked her. His little face was as red as a tomato."

"Poor Salamander."

"He'll get over it," I grinned.

"Well, here it is," Gajeel said, stopping in front of a large house.

"This is where you live now?" I asked, staring up at it.

"I bought it about a month before I left to find you. I wanted to bring you home to a nice house," he mumbled.

"It's huge."

"I make quite a bit of money as the head of the council," he smirked. "And I'm an S-Class hunter, so I make a lot on jobs, too. Do you like it?"

"It's huge," I repeated.

"It has three floors, a basement, an attic, and a huge back yard. There are six bedrooms, three bathrooms, and even a kitchen in the attic. I had it installed for Lily, since the attic is his."

"Why did you buy such a big house?" I chuckled.

"Well," he began, scratching his head awkwardly, "I figured I'd get something we could grow into. You know, with kids." I blushed as he smiled down at me. "Want to see the inside?"

"Yeah." The inside of the house was even more impressive. Dark hardwood floors covered most of the downstairs, while the second and third floors had dark gray carpet. The kitchen was nearly the size of my old room in Fairy Hills, and had every kind of appliance you could think of. Gajeel had even turned the basement into my own personal library.

Silas's room, however, was my favorite. Gajeel had had it completely furnished. A small bed sat along one wall, while the other three were lined with all kinds of toys. His closet, large enough for Gajeel and I to fit inside without touching each other, was full of clothes. There was even a bookcase packed with children's books.

"You didn't have to do all of this," I told Gajeel as we tucked Silas into bed.

"Of course I did," he smiled, pulling me against his chest as he planted a kiss on my lips. "You and Silas are my family, Shrimp."

"I still hate that nickname," I giggled, kissing him again.

"Gihi." In one swift motion, he picked me up and carried me from the room. Two doors away from Silas's room was where our room was. I laughed when he threw me onto the bed without even giving me a tour of the room.

I held him tightly as he kissed me, afraid the last two weeks had all just been a dream.

"Promise me something," Gajeel said, pulling away slightly.

"Anything," I nodded.

"Promise me you'll still be here when I wake up in the morning. That you, Silas, and I will all eat breakfast with Lily tomorrow, and go to Fairy Tail together."

I cupped his face in my hands, smiling. "Silas and I aren't going anywhere."

"Good," he sighed, lying beside me and pulling me against his chest. His shirt smelled like Fairy Tail, and I breathed it in greedily. "Welcome home, Levy," he said, kissing the top of my head as I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face. _I'm finally home._


	3. 2: Danger

**_~Gajeel~_**

I grumbled a little as sleep began wearing off. "Morning, Shrimp," I sighed, reaching out to wrap my arms around her. My eyes shot open when I felt only the empty sheets. Immediately, that old feeling of panic swirled in my gut. I jumped out of bed and ran down the hall, peeking into Silas's room. When I saw that his bed was empty as well, that panic began growing.

I knew it was a foolish worry, but I couldn't convince the knot in my stomach to ease up as I made my way to the living room. The last time I had woken up and found Shrimp gone, she had disappeared for six years. _Not again. Please, God, not again._

I nearly collapsed in relief when I found the two of them—plus Lily—in the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Silas squealed, launching himself off the kitchen chair at me. I caught him mid-jump, chuckling as Levy scolded us both.

"Good morning," I told Levy, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Don't be so rough with Silas," she frowned, pointing a spatula at me.

"He's part dragon-slayer, Shrimp," I grinned, "he ain't as fragile as you think."

"I don't care what he is," she told me. "He's still only five, so be gentle."

"Your mom is a kill-joy," I whispered to Silas, causing him to giggle.

"Kitty," Silas smiled, wrapping his arms around Lily once I put him down, "you're so cute."

"His name is Lily," Levy told him, "and he isn't a toy, Silas. He is our friend, and he is even on the council with your daddy."

"But he's a kitty," Silas frowned.

"Lily is a special kitty, though. Remember yesterday when he transformed? Or when he flew you around with his wings? He can do that because he's a type of demon called an Exceed."

"He looks like a kitty," Silas shrugged, scratching Lily on the head.

"He's—"

"I don't mind," Lily told Levy, smiling. I smirked, watching the warrior Exceed sit in the child's lap and be petted like a damned house-cat.

"Softie," I snickered.

"You're one to talk," Levy shot at me, playfully.

"Gihi."

"Mommy, after breakfast, can I go play with Layla?"

"Of course," Levy smiled.

"I need to be going, Shrimp," I sighed, looking at the clock. As much as I had loved my two-week vacation with just the three of us, I had responsibilities I had to return to.

"Can't you stay for breakfast?" She asked.

"Afraid not." I kissed her, my lips lingering against hers for as long as I could let them before I had to leave. I pulled Silas into a hug, promising to return soon, then grabbed Lily and left for the train station.

His disappointed sigh as we boarded the train mirrored how I felt. I hated leaving Shrimp and Silas. I told myself I would finish my duties quickly, and try to return by dinner. After being gone for two weeks, though, that may be impossible.

"You did a good job on Silas's room," I told Lily, trying to think of anything but the way my stomach felt as the train moved.

"Did he like it?" Lily asked, perking up.

"I think he did," I nodded, smiling. Along with my letter a week ago, I had sent instructions to Lily to prepare a room for Silas. I hadn't put much furniture in any of the rooms since I only used mine, so I let Lily buy everything and set it up the week before the three of us came home.

Although I had only just found Shrimp two weeks before, it felt as though we were never apart. She hadn't changed at all in the six years since she had left. And Silas had been the best surprise of my life. Being what I was, I never imagined getting the chance to settle down and have a real family. I was hated for so long that I had stopped even considering it—until Shrimp. If it was anyone but her, I might have still felt that way about it, but not with Shrimp. I wanted to spend every second of the rest of my life with her and Silas, and I wanted to have as many more children as she did.

"Lily, I think I've turned into one of those sappy family men like Salamander," I sighed as we got off the train in the capital.

"Is that bad?"

"I used to think so," I chuckled, "but now I'm thinkin' it might be nice."

"The house already feels more welcoming with Levy and Silas there," he nodded.

"Too bad we had to leave 'em and come all the way here," I sighed.

"Good morning, Councilman Redfox, Councilman Lily."

"Yeah," I waved, going inside. I hated that title. No matter how many times I told them just to call me "Gajeel", they all refused.

"Gajeel!" Well, accept for one.

"Mornin' Salamander," I nodded. "What's the plan for today?"

"You have some feathers to unruffled," he grinned. "They're all pretty pissed that you ran off for two weeks."

"They'll get over it."

"They have to," he chuckled.

"Well," I sighed, "let's get this over with.

**_~Levy~_**

As soon as the kitchen was cleaned up after breakfast, I took Silas to Fairy Tail. We barely had time to walk through the doors before I heard a squeal and a blur of blonde hair. Layla crashed into Silas with a giggle, sending them both to the ground.

"Silas!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You smell like pancakes."

He giggled, helping her to her feet. "You smell like smoke."

To that, she blushed. "I-I caught my bedroom on fire again," she mumbled, embarrassed.

"What?" I gasped.

"That's the second time this month," Lucy sighed. "She just discovered her fire dragon slayer powers a few months ago, so she's been testing them out."

"Oh God," I chuckled.

"She can't control them yet like me," Nashi said, sticking her tongue out at her little sister.

"So!" Layla, huffed.

I smiled while Lucy rolled her eyes. "You girls take Silas and go play."

"Let's go play with the kitten!" Layla squealed, grabbing Silas's hand and dragging him off towards Happy and Carla.

"Want a drink?" Lucy asked, grinning.

"Speaking of drinks," I said, looking around, "where's Cana? I haven't seen her since I've been back."

"She's on her honeymoon with Baccus," Lucy told me, laughing when I gaped at her.

"So, they really got together?"

"It took three years of him begging her, but they finally did," Lucy chuckled.

"I'm glad," I smiled. "It seems like everyone finally got together while I was gone."

"You were gone for six years," Lucy said, sadly.

I hooked my arm around hers, "but I'm back now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

I grinned at her. "Promise! Besides, I can't leave now. What would Layla do if I took Silas away?"

Lucy laughed. "Probably hunt you down."

"Who will be hunting who down?" Mirajane asked, taking a seat at the table with us and putting Nate on her lap.

"Layla, if Levy ever leaves with Silas."

Mira giggled. "That isn't a path I'd like to walk down."

"And I don't plan to," I sighed. It was surreal being back in the guildhall, drinking beer and chatting as if I had never left.

"Mama," Nate said, tugging on Mira's shirt.

"Yes, Nate?"

"Papa's back." He pointed to the doorway, and the three of us gasped. Laxus had just entered the building, and he had to lean against Freed heavily for support. His clothes were tattered and covered in blood, and scratches covered his entire body.

"Laxus!" Mira exclaimed. She instructed Nate to stay with Lucy before she ran to him, helping him to the infirmary. Wendy followed them, and everyone grew quiet once they were gone.

"Lu-chan, what happened to Laxus?" I asked.

"That's the second person this month," she sighed, comforting a crying Nate.

"What do you mean?"

"A couple of weeks ago, Juvia was attacked. When she made it back to Fairy Tail, she looked quite similar to Laxus, actually."

"Do you know who is responsible?"

She shook her head. "Juvia said they attacked too fast, and they came from behind so she never saw their face. For a few months now Fairy Tail has been getting threats from some group who doesn't like what Gajeel and the others are doing on the council. We thought maybe it was one of the old council members that Gajeel exposed and had kicked off the council, but we can't find anything to tie back to any of them."

"Gajeel never mentioned any of that," I frowned.

"He probably didn't want to worry you," she said, patting my hand. "To be honest with you, Gajeel personally gets threats like that quite often from people still resistant to the new demon laws. He's tough, though, and he has Lily with him, so you shouldn't worry about him."

I looked down at the blood red moon-shaped tattoo on my left wrist and rubbed it gently. "Of course I'm going to worry," I sighed.

"Well, _I_ know that," Lucy smirked, "because you love him so much. But, you shouldn't let it bother you too much. Nothing ever becomes of those ones. The only real threat now is dealing with whoever has been attacking Fairy Tail hunters."

"Is there any way I can help?" I asked.

"You want to start hunting again?" She looked surprised.

"I don't know," I sighed. "I thought I was through with all of the fighting, but if Fairy Tail is in danger I can't just sit back and not do anything to help."

"I was hoping you'd say that." I jumped when Master Makarov appeared behind me. "We could really use your help with this one, Levy."

I smiled. "Just tell me what I can do."

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Councilman Redfox, where are you going?" One of the guards asked as I left the council building.

"I need some fresh air," I sighed. "And stop callin' me that!"

"The meetings aren't over yet, sir," he said, following me as I walked towards the center of town.

"I've been in meetings all damned day, I'm done until tomorrow."

"But sir, the others—"

"Ah, I get it," I snapped. "I'll be back in twenty minutes, so go tell everyone to calm the hell down until then."

"Sir, excuse my rudeness, but I don't feel it is wise for you to be walking around the city alone."

"I ain't in any trouble."

"But—"

"Listen," I growled, turning on him. "I have listened to those assholes arguing all damned morning. Now, I'm going to take a walk before I rip their throats out, and you're going to shut up about it. If you want to follow me, then be my guest, but stop naggin' me."

"Yes sir," he nodded, walking quietly beside me as I wandered aimlessly around the city. _Damn, this is annoying. A few death threats and everyone acts like it's the end of the world. I used to have a damned _bounty_ on my head, so a few wimpy letters aren't even worth my time to read._

I would have much rather been at Fairy Tail with Levy and Silas, spending the day with them. _Maybe I'll take the weekend off, and make a day just for Levy and I where we can stay in bed all day._ That thought seemed like quite a wonderful idea. _We could just spend the day in bed together—preferably naked._ Yes, I _very much_ liked that idea.

"Sir, we're being followed," the guard whispered to me as I circled back towards the council building.

"You just noticed?" I chuckled.

"Sir?"

"It's not a threat, so just ignore it."

"But—"

"Acting on edge like that will just draw more attention to you, so relax."

Almost as soon as I had left the council building, the man had begun following me. I could tell from his smell that he was a half-demon, so I didn't suspect there was anything I really needed to worry about. He didn't seem angry or anything either, so I just ignored him.

"Councilman Redfox!"

I turned to the man who had called to me, moving the guard out of my way. "Yeah?" I asked him. Suddenly, there was a _pop_ and pain erupted throughout my side.

"Sir!" The guard gasped as I fell to one knee, wincing as I placed a hand over the wound in my side. Whatever he had shot me with was still in my side, because I couldn't feel an exit wound.

"Don't worry about me," I snapped, "go get that guy!"

"Right," he nodded, taking off after my attacker.

I didn't know what he had shot me with, but it wasn't an ordinary bullet. A normal gunshot wound wouldn't have slowed me down much, but I couldn't even find the strength to get to my feet.

"What the hell," I groaned, barely aware of the crowd of frightened citizens around me as I collapsed completely.

"Gajeel!" I recognized Lily's voice, and felt myself being helped to my feet, but consciousness was quickly escaping me.

"Weird…bullet," I managed, still clutching my bleeding side.

"Stay awake," he instructed. "We're almost to the infirmary."

I heard him, but I didn't even have time to respond before I lost to the sweet bliss of unconsciousness.


	4. 3: New and Old

"Gajeel!" Levy's frantic voice finally pulled me from sleep. I could tell by all of the white that I was in the hospital somewhere, but I wasn't sure where. _Shrimp wouldn't be in the capital, would she? But, how could I have ended up in a hospital in Magnolia?_

"Gajeel," Levy cried, wrapping her arms around my neck as soon as my eyes were open. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"How long was I out?" I asked, trying to sit up.

She pushed me back down before wiping tears from her eyes. "About eight hours," she sighed, "but that was _after_ Porlyusica and Wendy mixed up an antidote to the poison. You were unconscious about two hours before that."

"Poison?"

"The bullet you were shot with had been soaked in some kind of poison," she frowned. "Even Porlyusica couldn't identify it."

"Damn," I growled. "That asshole who shot me didn't seem like a threat!"

"You need to be more careful," Levy scolded. "Lucy told me about the death threats."

_Damn it, blondie! I didn't want Levy to know about that._ "It's not a big deal—"

"Yes it is!" She snapped. "I—" her voice cracked, and I watched as tears filled her hazel eyes "I love you, Gajeel, so it's a big deal to me. And to Silas. I know you think it's annoying, but you should let the guards do their job and protect you."

"Alright, Shrimp," I sighed, grabbing her hand, "don't get all upset about it. If it'll make you feel better, I'll make sure I've always got a guard with me when I leave without Lily."

"Thank you," she smiled, wiping her eyes with the hand I wasn't holding.

I frowned, catching her hand as she put it back down and turned it over. "Wasn't this thing black?" I asked, looking at the tattoo of a moon on her wrist. I remembered admiring it a lot over the last two weeks, because it was what I had to thank for her not having her memory erased.

"It was," she said, pulling her hand away but offering no more explanation.

I ignored her attempts to keep me lying flat, and scooted so my back was propped against my pillows. "So?" I asked once I was up.

"So what?"

"Why's it red?" I frowned again when she looked away from me and fidgeted slightly. "Shrimp, what's wrong?" I gently placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head until her eyes met mine.

"Well, I—I think I'm pregnant."

My mouth fell open, and all I could do was gape at her. When the initial shock finally wore off, I broke out into a grin. "That's great, Shrimp!"

"Really?" She asked, looking unsure.

"Tch." I pulled her into a hug, ignoring her complaints about my injury. "Of course it's good, Shrimp. We're gonna have another baby, ain't we? Why wouldn't I be happy about that?"

"You're right," she giggled.

"How long have you known?"

"Only a few days," she said. I'm not sure if that's really why the mark changed colors, though. I haven't had the chance to ask Lucy about it."

"I guess not, with me getting shot an all," I chuckled.

"It isn't funny," she said, sternly. "You could have died!"

"But I didn't," I grinned.

"You—"

"Metal head! Looks like you're finally awake," Natsu grinned, bursting into the room with Lily and Happy close behind him.

"Shut it, Salamander," I growled, annoyed.

"You gave everyone a scare, you know that?" He frowned, suddenly serious. "And the council meetings were all put on hold until you get released."

"Tell 'em it's going to be a few months," I chuckled.

"Slacker," Natsu grinned.

"Daddy! Is Uncle Gajeel awake?" Penelope asked, shyly, as she peeked her head into the room.

"He is," Natsu told her, opening the door up a little more for her.

She climbed onto the bed and wrapped her tiny arms around my neck, smiling. "I bought you a get-well gift," she informed me when she pulled away. "Mommy is holding it in the hallway. Guess what it is!"

I ruffled her hair. Natsu's kids had never been afraid of me for some reason, and I was actually pretty fond of them all. "What?"

"A teddy bear!" she giggled. "Everybody likes teddy bears."

I gave Shrimp a confused look, wondering what teddy bears had to do with getting well again. She suppressed a laugh, shaking her head.

"Uncle Gajeel!" Layla shrieked, running into the room. She launched herself at me, laughing when I caught her. I tried not to wince as she held onto me tightly. "Daddy said you got yourself into trouble again."

"You're daddy's an as—" Levy smacked me on the back of the head, sending me a warning glare when I looked up at her.

"Layla, don't be so loud," Lucy sighed, coming into the room with Nashi.

"Do you feel better, Uncle Gajeel?" Nashi asked.

"A little," I told her.

"I'm relieved that Wendy and Porlyusica's antidote worked," Lily said.

"Speaking of which," I frowned, "did they catch the bastard who shot me?"

"Girls, it's time to go with mommy and Uncle Happy, alright? Say goodbye to Gajeel."

The three of them hugged me, then left with the blonde and the blue Exceed. When the door shut behind them, Natsu sighed. "We haven't been able to find him."

"What? Why not?" I snapped. "That guard went after him as soon as it happened, so he should have gotten him easily!"

"That's the thing," Natsu said, "the guard is missing, too."

"You don't think he was working with the attacker, do you?" Levy asked.

"I don't think so," Natsu said.

"Wouldn't he have shot Gajeel himself if that were the case?" Lily asked.

"Maybe," Levy frowned. "It's weird that both Gajeel and Laxus were attacked in the same day, though. Within hours from each other."

"Laxus was attacked?" I asked, shocked.

"Right before we got the call that you had been shot," she nodded. "Lucy said it was the same thing that had happened to Juva a few weeks ago."

"They could be part of the same group," Natsu said.

"Maybe," Levy frowned.

"What?" I asked, knowing that look.

"While it _is_ suspicious, I don't think it was the same person—or, group of people—who attacked you and Laxus. The methods are totally different.

The man who attacked you was genuinely trying to kill you—and publically. The person who attacked Laxus and Juvia did it as they were walking to Fairy Tail, and they just beat them up, almost as if they are sending a message to Fairy Tail as a whole, and not just you."

"I agree," Lily nodded. His brows were furrowed in thought as he took in what Levy was saying.

"So, what are we going to do now?" I asked.

"I'm going back to Magnolia," Levy said. "I left Silas with Mirajane before I came to the capital, so I bet he's worried. I also wanted to go to the library to do a little bit of research."

"You've been back two days and you're already doing research," I chuckled.

"If you weren't so much trouble, I wouldn't have to," she teased.

"Gross. Before you two start making out," Natsu said, smirking when Levy blushed, "I need to talk to Gajeel and Lily alone. Sorry Levy, but it's council stuff."

"No problem," Levy told him, though I didn't really want her to leave yet. She kissed me tenderly on the lips before straightening. "I'll be back in the morning."

"Fine," I pouted, watching her leave. As soon as the door closed, I turned back to Natsu. "So, what happened?"

**_~Levy~_**

I hummed happily to myself once I got off the train in Magnolia. I was happy that Gajeel seemed to be alright now. On top of that, I had told him about my suspected pregnancy. I looked down at the red mark on my wrist, smiling. I had been concerned at first at its sudden color change, but then had concluded that it just meant I was pregnant again. The thought made me a little nervous—especially since Gajeel had only just found me after all those years. It had been foolish of me to be nervous about telling him, but I had waited four days nonetheless.

"Watch out!" I was suddenly forced to the ground, a heavy body on top of mine as I lay on the sidewalk flat on my stomach.

"Hey, what you—"

"Ok, get up!" The voice definitely belonged to a man, but I couldn't see his face because he was now in front of me, pulling me behind him as he ran down the street. "We need to go—now!"

"Why are we running?" I asked. A second later, a small vendor's stand exploded to my right. "What was that?!" I gasped, trying to keep up as he ran a little faster.

"Don't talk, just run!" He instructed.

Deciding I'd rather get away from whatever was chasing us, I closed my mouth and focused on running. We escaped into the trees, stopping only when we reached a dense patch of weeds and he shoved me down into them.

"Who are you?" I whispered, unable to see him because of the pitch black surrounding us.

"Sh," he snapped, pointing to the trees. I heard rustling, and what sounded like a growl. We laid there in silence for several minutes, waiting. After a long time, the man beside me sighed. "Ok, I think it's gone."

He stood up and held a hand out to me. "Sorry for being so rough, earlier. I didn't really have time to explain."

"It's alright," I said, brushing dirt and grass off my clothes.

"Let's head back," he said, leading me out of the trees.

"Thanks for saving me from whatever that was," I told him once we reached the sidewalk again. Now that we were under the moon's light, I could see him more clearly. He had blue hair—only about a shade darker than mine—which stood up in short spikes, almost like Natsu's. When he turned his face towards me and smiled, I was taken a little off guard. He was quite handsome, actually. His smile was very warm, and his eyes were a deep gold. The only flaw I could see in any of his features was a small scar beside his left eye. He was dressed in a pair of simple, black jeans, and a white tank top. I could also tell that he was muscular by his toned arms.

"That was a demon known as a Shadow Dweller. They—"

"—use the shadows to hide in while they hunt," I finished. "I haven't seen one in a long time."

"Are you a demon hunter?" He asked.

I stopped walking and nodded before holding out my hand. "Well, I used to be. My name is Levy McGarden, and I belong to the Fairy Tail organization."

"Whoa, seriously?" He gasped, grabbing my hand and shaking it enthusiastically. "Isn't that the same organization that three council members—including the head of the council—belong to?"

"It is," I chuckled.

"Oh, wow! It's an honor to meet you, Mrs. McGarden!"

"Miss," I sighed, cringing a little, "and just call me Levy. That makes me sound old."

"Levy it is, then," he grinned. "I'm Darrick Fearghus."

"Why are you out so late?" I asked, remembering it was nearly five in the morning. I frowned a little, wondering why he could have been out wandering the streets so late.

"I was taking walk," he said. "I'm staying at an inn just down the street, and I couldn't sleep. Actually, I have a meeting with Master Makarov tomorrow at Fairy Tail, so I was too nervous to sleep."

"A meeting for what?"

"I have been on the Special Forces unit in Fiore's army for a long time, and he wanted to discuss something with me. I received the message yesterday morning, so I immediately packed my things and came to Magnolia straight from the capital. When I got here, the organization was really hectic for some reason, so he asked to reschedule to tomorrow."

"It was a busy evening," I sighed. "One of our members was attacked, and Gajeel was shot while taking a walk in the capital."

"What?!" Darrick exclaimed. "Are they alright?"

"They will be," I nodded, clearing my throat against the lump that formed there when I thought about Gajeel's condition before he had been given the antidote. For a few minutes, we thought he might not make it, and that had nearly killed me, too.

"I-I'm sorry," he gasped, "I've upset you."

"No, it's fine," I smiled. "Sorry, but I should really be going. My son is waiting."

"Not at all," he said. "Will I see you tomorrow at Fairy Tail?"

"Probably not," I told him, "I plan to return to Gajeel's hospital in the capital."

"Why you?" he asked.

I felt my face heat up a little at his question. I had never said what our relationship was out-loud before. "I'm his girlfriend." My lips pulled up into a wide smile as I said it.

"Seriously?" Darrick gaped down at me.

"Well, I should get going. Maybe I'll see you around, Darrick."

"Definitely!" He shook himself out of his stupor, then waved as I left.

"I'm glad Darrick showed up when he did," I sighed to myself as I walked to Mira and Laxus's house. I hadn't realized how rusty I had gotten until tonight. _I should have sensed that demon immediately. Hell, I didn't even sense it when it attacked!_ "I'm going to have to start training again."

With a gasp, my hand shot down to my stomach as I remembered something very important. "I can't start training again if I'm pregnant, though."

I reached Mira's house a few moments later, and gently knocked on the door.

"Levy," Mira smiled, ushering me inside. "How was Gajeel?"

"Better," I sighed. "And Laxus?"

"Better," she nodded. "He was awake for most of the night. I finally convinced him to go to bed a few hours ago when they let him come home."

"Did Silas behave for you?"

"He was perfect," she giggled. "He played with Nate until they both fell asleep. From the looks of you, you should be getting some rest, too."

"I will as soon as I get home," I nodded.

"Spend the night here. Silas is already asleep, and your house is at least ten minutes away. I don't want you and Silas walking that far in the dark. Sleep here, and you two can go home in the morning."

"Alright," I nodded, too tired to argue. She led me to the guest room, and shut the door when she left to go to her room.

Without even moving the blanket, I collapsed onto the bed, moaning a little at how good the soft bed felt against my travel-stiffened muscles.

_Tomorrow I'll stop by the library and check out a few books before returning to Gajeel. Maybe I can figure out something about either of the attackers—and maybe even mine._ I thought again about Darrick, and wondered why Master would need to talk to someone from Special Forces.

_There certainly have been a lot of strange things happening since I've been home._ I chuckled. Actually, they weren't that strange—not for Fairy Tail.


	5. 4: Secrets

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Damn," I muttered, finally giving up on sleep once I saw light begin to peek through the white curtains of my hospital room. After Salamander and Lily had left the night before, I had gotten a bad feeling that just wouldn't go away.

Sighing, I pulled myself up and leaned my back against the pillows, cursing the guy who shot me because of how annoying the injury was. _When I find him, I'm going to beat the shit out of him, too. Damned bastard!_ I grabbed the small silver object off of my bedside table that Lily had given me, and stared at it.

It was the bullet I had been shot with.

_This can't be good. This is the third time I've seen this, so there's no way it's just a coincidence._ There was a symbol carved into the metal, and I could just make out what it was. _I can't let Shrimp find out about this._

I had told Lily and Salamander about it only because I couldn't figure out what the symbol meant after I saw it the first time. It had appeared branded into the skin of a demon that had attacked me first. Next, I spotted it briefly as a tattoo on a man's arm as he was taken into custody by the Fiore army after murdering quite a few people.

Once I found out what it was, I swore Salamander and Lily to secrecy, and vowed to take care of it quickly. That was three months ago. _Now that I finally have Shrimp back, I have to deal with this as soon as possible._

**_~Levy~_**

"Silas, hurry now," I told my son, urging him to walk a little faster. We had just arrived in the capital, and it was already nearly sunset. I had gotten a little too absorbed in the library, and had ended up spending most of the day there. Now I was carrying a large duffel bag full of books as I held onto Silas's hand with my free one.

"When does daddy get to come home?" He asked once we finally made it to the hospital.

"In a few days," I said, trying to sound reassuring. "He needs some rest right now."

"Daddy!" He exclaimed as soon as I opened Gajeel's door. He launched himself at Gajeel, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck as he cried. "I was scared when mommy told me you got hurt. Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine, kiddo," Gajeel chuckled, ruffling his black hair. "Now, stop cryin'. You're a dragon slayer's son, remember?" With a nod, Silas nodded and pulled away to wipe his face.

"Where ya been, Shrimp?" He asked, raising an iron studded eyebrow at me.

"I got a little distracted," I chuckled, dropping the duffel bag of books to the floor beside a chair.

"Should have guessed," he snickered.

"What's this?" I frowned, noticing the small silver object laying on the table beside his bed.

"Nothing," he snapped, grabbing it out of my hand before I could get a closer look at it. "It's nothing."

"Gajeel," I said, sternly, "what are you hiding?"

"Nothing," he said, obviously lying. "Don't worry about it."

"I—" I was cut off by a knock at the door.

"It's open," Gajeel said, looking relieved to be saved.

"Sorry to disturb you."

"Darrick?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "I came to pay my respects to councilman Redfox. I didn't know you were here, Levy."

"Who the hell are _you_?" Gajeel frowned.

"Oh, right," Darrick said, making his way over to the bed. He held his hand out to Gajeel and smiled. "I'm Darrick Fearghus. It's a pleasure to meet you, councilm—"

"Call me Gajeel," he snapped, giving Darrick's hand one stiff shake before releasing it again. "How do you know Shrimp?"

"Well, last night I saved—"

"—a seat for me on the train back to Magnolia," I interrupted, quickly. _If Gajeel knows I was attacked last night, I'm sure he'll rush back to Magnolia to find that demon. He's still pretty weak from that poison, so he needs to stay in the hospital._ "He was on his way to town to meet with Master this morning, and was kind enough to let me sit with him."

**_~Gajeel~_**

I narrowed my eyes as I looked between the two of them. _Shrimp's hiding something. _

"Speaking of which," she said, looking at Darrick, "how did your meeting with Master go?"

"Great," he nodded, smiling at her. "Actually, I am now officially a member of the organization."

"Really?" Levy gasped. "That's great news! Welcome to Fairy Tail."

"Don't get too comfortable," I growled, not liking the way he kept smiling at Levy.

"Gajeel," she snapped, frowning at me in disapproval before turning back to the golden-eyed bastard. "What kind of weaponry do you specialize in?"

"Guns, actually," he said, proudly.

I scoffed quietly to myself. _Don't think you can impress Shrimp just by using the same weapons as her. You probably aren't even that good._

"I had all sorts of training while with the Special Forces."

"You're a member of the Special Forces?" I asked, shocked. Sure, he was muscular enough to fit in, but the only other Special Forces members I had ever met were all business, the total opposite of this guy.

"I was," he grinned. "Now I'm an S-Class demon hunter for the Fairy Tail Organization."

"S-Class?" I frowned.

"That's the ranking Makarov gave me when I joined this afternoon," he nodded. "Because of my ranking with the SFU, he thought it would be fitting."

I said nothing as I continued frowning at him. _This guy is suspicious. Is he really skilled enough to _enter_ the organization as an S-Class? I busted my ass for years before that old man finally promoted me, so why's this guy so special?_

"Why did Master invite you to join Fairy Tail?" Levy asked.

"That's a secret," he grinned, winking at her.

"Isn't it about time for you to go back to Magnolia?" I asked, knowing if he stayed a minute longer I was going to do something I'd regret later. _Maybe I _wouldn't_ regret ripping this guy's throat out…_

"Actually, I should probably go introduce myself to everyone," he said—thankfully—taking the hint. "It was an honor to meet you, Gajeel." He bowed slightly to me, told Levy goodbye, and then left.

"Silas, tell daddy goodbye and go wait for mommy in the hallway," she said. Silas quickly did as she said, knowing immediately by the look on her face that she was pissed. I gulped a little as the door closed behind him.

"What the hell was that?" She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing me with a glare.

"What?"

"_That_," she said, pointing towards the door. "Darrick was nothing but kind to you, and you were very rude to him!"

"I don't like the guy, Shrimp," I frowned, getting angry that she was defending him.

"Why?" She asked.

"He's untrustworthy," I growled.

"On what grounds?" She growled back. "He was in here for only a few minutes, how would you know if he's trustworthy or not?"

"I get a weird feeling from him," I said. It wasn't exactly _un_true. I did get a weird feeling from him, but I didn't think it was anything dangerous. Mostly I just didn't like the way he acted around Shrimp.

"Well, I didn't get any kind of weird feeling from him at all," she frowned, crossing her arms again.

"Maybe not, but you tend to see the good in people." _Why is she so determined to defend this guy? She barely knows him, so what's it matter?_

"Is that such a bad thing?" She snapped.

"It can be if you let it cloud your judgment," I told her.

"And who have I ever let seeing the good in them cloud my judgment?"

"I don't know," I snapped, "maybe a certain bartender?"

The look of hurt that crossed her face made me immediately regret my words. "Shrimp—"

She slammed the door as she left the room before I could say anything else. Cursing, I leaned back against my pillows. "Way to go, big mouth."

When the door opened again, I sat up. "Shrimp, I'm sorry…" I trailed off when I saw who it was.

"What was that about?" Natsu asked, frowning slightly.

"None of your business," I snapped, angrily.

"Should I go after her?" Lily offered.

"No," I sighed, "let her go."

"Whatever you did, you're going to have to _really_ make it up to her," Natsu chuckled, "she looked pissed."

"Great," I groaned, falling back against the pillows.

"In better news, we caught your shooter and found the missing guard."

"What?" I looked at him. "Where?"

"Your shooter was in the next town. The guard, though, we found in the forest outside the city."

"Dead?" I asked.

Natsu nodded. "He was shot with the same kind of bullet as you."

"It's a good thing Wendy and Porlyusica were able to create that antidote for you," Lily said. "The effects of that poison were quite gruesome."

"How so?"

"Well, from the looks of him, his heart burst once the poison made it that far."

"It was pretty gross," Natsu added.

"Damn," I sighed. "Who the hell was he working for?"

"We don't know yet. The Special Forces are looking into it, though. They're interrogating him as we speak."

"And what about the bastard who has been attacking Fairy Tail members? Any leads on them?"

"Not yet," Lily said, shaking his head. "Levy was looking into that, I believe."

"I don't want Shrimp getting involved," I frowned.

"And how would you suggest keeping her out of it?" Natsu scoffed. "She's a hunter, Gajeel, and she grew up in Fairy Tail. There's no way she _isn't_ going to do her own investigation."

"I don't want her to get hurt."

"Again," Natsu sighed, "she's a hunter. Can't really avoid that."

"We can if she's pregnant," I snapped.

"Levy's pregnant?" Lily gasped.

"She's not sure, but yeah, she might be."

"Damn," Natsu smirked. "That was quick."

"You're one to talk, Salamander," I grinned. Nashi and Layla were barely a year apart, meaning Lucy had gotten pregnant again when Nashi was only a couple of months old.

"Congratulations," Lily said, smiling.

"Thanks," I chuckled. "Now I just have to convince her to forgive me for being an ass."

"I'm sure she—" Natsu stopped talking and turned when the door suddenly burst open.

"Daddy!" Silas's panicked voice had me jumping out of the bed and running to him.

"What is it?" I asked, cringing against the pain erupting throughout my entire body. He looked fine, so I was a little relieved. However, Shrimp wasn't with him, and that worried me.

"M-Mommy!" He cried, grabbing my hand and tugging me out into the hallway.

"What happened?" I asked, picking him up and running in the direction he had pointed.

"She looked mad when she left, a-and she said we were leaving. We made it to the lobby, then she just fell down. I—I couldn't get her to wake up." He began sobbing as he said the last part.

As we finally made it to the lobby, I noticed quite a bit was going on. Nurses were shouting to each other, and I was nearly run over by a bed as someone rushed into the room with it.

It wasn't until the nurses parted for the bed that I saw her. She was laying on her side, facing me, and I knew something was wrong. Her skin was unusually pale, made even more so by the blue hair falling over her face and laying spread out on the floor around her head.

"Shrimp!" I called, handing Silas to Natsu as I ran to her. The nurses had just lifted her onto the bed, and tried to keep me back as they took her to the emergency room. I ignored them, refusing to leave her side.

As I ran beside her bed on the way to the ER, I couldn't take my eyes off her. She was so pale, almost like a dead person. Her breathing was also extremely shallow, and it seemed to take a lot of effort just to inhale. _Shrimp, please be okay! What the hell happened to you?!_

Shrimp's eyes suddenly shot open for a fraction of a second, and immediately closed again when her body convulsed. Just as fast as it had happened, she was laying still once more.

That's when she started screaming.


	6. 5: Quite a Pair

Three hours.

It had been three hours since they took Shrimp into the back room, cutting off my access to her. Hell, I had even tried using my position as head of the hunters' council to get them to let me back there, but they hadn't budged.

"Councilman Redfox," a nurse said, handing me a cup of coffee, "you should really return to your room. We'll let you know how she's doing as soon as we can."

"No," I said, stubbornly. "I'm staying here." With a sigh, she left.

"Gajeel," Lily said, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "Levy will be alright."

"Yeah," I nodded, unable to say much else. Sitting in the hard waiting room chairs had begun to make my side hurt again, and I thought I might have busted a few stitches, but I ignored the pain. Levy was my top priority. Her and Silas.

I looked over, smiling at my sleeping son. Lucy had arrived a short time after Levy passed out, and she was now cradling a sleeping Silas on her lap.

"Thanks for coming back to the capital," I told her.

"Don't mention it," she smiled. "The girls were more than happy to have a sleepover at Juvia and Gray's, and I couldn't just stay home knowing something was wrong with Levy."

"I—"

"Councilman Redfox?" A woman in a doctor's uniform stepped into the waiting room, and I jumped to my feet.

"How is she?" I asked. "Can I see her?"

"Miss McGarden is awake," she said, "but we aren't permitting visitors just yet. She's still a little dazed from the medication we gave her to ease some of her pain."

My gut knotted itself tightly. "How much pain?"

"We aren't sure," she sighed. "We got her to stop screaming after we gave her the medication, but she couldn't seem to remember anything after she woke up."

"But she's going to be okay now, right?" I asked.

"That is still to be determined," she said. "For now, we'll keep her on strict surveillance and monitor her condition."

"And what about the baby?" I asked.

"Baby?" The doctor gave me a confused look.

"We don't really know for sure, but we suspect Levy might be pregnant," I told her.

She shook her head, sadly. "I'm sorry, Councilman, but there were no signs of a fetus when we did our tests."

"Oh," I frowned. "Well, thanks. Let me know as soon as I can go back."

"We will," she nodded, disappearing behind the emergency room doors.

"Wait," Lucy said, standing behind me. I hadn't even heard her follow me over to the doctor. "You guys thought Levy might be pregnant?"

"We weren't sure," I sighed. "Her mark changed colors, so we assumed that's what it was."

"Changed colors?" Lucy frowned.

"Yeah," I nodded, "it turned red. Didn't yours when you got pregnant again?"

She held up her wrist, showing me the jet black moon tattoo. Only, now there were three, going up her arm in a straight line with about a centimeter between each of them. "No, they didn't. I just got a new one with each pregnancy."

"What the hell," I sighed, frustrated by all of the unanswered questions. "What could have caused hers to turn red, then?"

"Human and Dragon Slayer offspring haven't exactly been something to ever happen before," Lucy said, "so we can't say what happened to Levy's mark isn't normal. Honestly, we still know very little about half-demon children, and even _less_ about half-Dragon Slayer children. You guys are a special case, so maybe it isn't something to worry about."

"Yeah," I nodded. However, something deep in my gut told me it _wasn't_ normal, and that I should be worried about it. _Lucy and Natsu should be the same as Levy and I, so it just doesn't make sense._

My head snapped up when I heard the echo of a scream from outside the hospital. "Stay here with Silas," I instructed Lucy, running out the doors with Lily on my heels.

"What was that?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," I frowned, looking around.

"There!" Lily shouted, pointing down the street. A woman was huddled on the ground, shrinking away from something that was closing in on her from the shadows.

"A Shadow Dweller," I snapped. Lily and I ran to it, reaching the woman just in time. I snatched her out of the way as Lily transformed and ran his sword through the demon's heart. With a shriek, it turned to dust.

"Th-Thank you!" The woman sobbed, hugging me tightly before running away.

"What was a Shadow Dweller doing in the middle of town?" Lily asked. It had only been dark for a couple of hours, and the demons usually didn't come this far into town.

"I don't—ngh!" I staggered to the side when my vision suddenly blurred and my head began to spin. I clutched my side, and felt that my shirt was completely soaked through. _Damn. I must have reopened my wounds._

"You overdid it," Lily said, supporting my weight on his shoulder and rushing me back to the hospital.

"It's nothing," I wheezed.

"Wait," Lily frowned, looking at my shoulder. I winced when he pulled something out of it.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, looking down at the small syringe in his hands.

"This is bad," he said, picking up the pace to the hospital.

"What is it?" I couldn't clearly see it, so I had no idea why he was suddenly so worried.

"The contents of this look quite similar to the poison you were shot with yesterday," he said. "Only, this appears to be a more concentrated dose."

"Shit," I grumbled. "What the hell."

"The hospital has the antidote, so just hang on."

I nodded, wishing I hadn't when my head span a little faster. _This shit is getting really old!_

**_~Levy~_**

"Miss McGarden," I heard someone say as I blinked against the bright lights overhead. "Welcome back."

"Huh?" I tried to ask, but ended up coughing against my raw throat. _Was I screaming_?

"It's alright if you don't say anything right now." My vision was beginning to clear up, and I could see a green-haired woman smiling down at me. She was wearing a doctor's uniform, so I assumed that's who she was.

"W-What happened?" I asked, though my voice was barely a whisper.

"You passed out yesterday evening, and have been fading in and out of consciousness since then. Do you remember the conversation we had the last time you woke up?"

I frowned. She looked familiar, but my memory was hazy. "I don't know."

She wrote something on a clipboard before looking at me with eyes that matched her hair. "You asked if your son, Silas, was alright. Do you remember that?"

I thought hard. Actually, that seemed familiar, so I nodded. "You said he was with Lu-chan," I said, pieces of my memory beginning to clear up.

"That's right," she smiled. "Good, you're starting to regain your memory. Don't push too hard. The memories will come back to you with time. For now, do you think you can sit up?"

"Yeah," I said, accepting the help of a nurse who seemed to appear out of nowhere. She used the remote to tilt the head of the bed up, and supported my back with pillows as I leaned against it.

"Are you hungry?" The doctor asked. The thought of food made my stomach grumble loudly, and she chuckled. "We'll bring you something to eat in a few moments." With a nod, the nurse left the room.

"Can I see Gajeel and Silas?" I asked.

"I will send in Lucy and Silas as soon as I leave," she said.

I frowned, noticing she hadn't said anything about Gajeel. "What about Gajeel?" Although it probably wasn't good for him to leave his room, I knew that he must have already left it if I had been asleep for almost a day.

"The councilman is still recovering," she said, "so he won't be able to leave his room for a few more hours."

"Recovering?" _Did something else happen to him?_ I heard my heart monitor beat faster as I stared at my doctor, nervously awaiting her answer.

"He was attacked last night after saving a woman from a Shadow Dweller just outside the hospital. We aren't sure how, but he was stuck with a syringe filled with the same poison he was attacked with before."

"What?!" I gasped. "Is he alright?"

"He will be just fine," she said, laying a hand on my shoulder to calm me. "He's sleeping off the effects of it now, thanks to the antidote. Part of his injury was caused by reopening his gunshot wound, because we caught the poison so early."

"That dummy," I sighed, relieved.

"I'll be back in a few moments," she told me, looking down at her pager when it beeped. "I'll have your visitors sent in."

Almost as soon as she left, Lucy, Silas, and Lily came into the room. "Mommy!" Silas cried, wrapping his arms around me as he burst into tears. "I-I was so scared. I tried to wake you up, b-but it didn't work. And then I got daddy, and—and you just kept screaming."

My eyes filled with tears as I hugged him back. "I'm so sorry, Silas," I whispered, stroking his long black hair, "I didn't mean to scare you. Mommy is alright, see? There's no need to cry now."

He nodded, wiping at the tears and snot running down his face. I giggled, cleaning him up with a tissue.

"How are you feeling?" Lucy asked, looking at me worriedly.

"I'm better," I said. "My throat hurts and my memory is a little foggy, but I'm fine otherwise. How's Gajeel?"

"He is sleeping," Lily answered. "I assumed you were told what happened?"

"Yeah," I frowned. "What is going on? That's two attacks in such a short amount of time—not to mention the attacks on Juvia and Laxus. And now the Shadow Dwellers."

"There have been more attacks from the demons?" Lily asked.

I nodded, sighing. "I didn't tell Gajeel because I didn't want him to worry, but I was attacked the other night in Magnolia after visiting him here. That's how I met Darrick."

"Darrick?" Lucy asked.

"He just joined Fairy Tail today—yesterday, I guess it would be now."

"I haven't really been at the guildhall since yesterday," Lucy frowned, "so I don't think I've met him yet."

"Neither have I," Lily added. "But, the important thing here are the Shadow Dwellers. If you were attacked in Magnolia, then it's suspicious that one showed up just outside the hospital only a few hours after you passed out."

"That is pretty strange," I murmured. I gasped, suddenly getting an idea. "Could it be possible that a Shadow Dweller also attacked Juvia and Laxus?"

"We hadn't considered it before, because they are rare demons, and usually stick to unpopulated areas," Lily frowned. "But, seeing as how we know for a fact one was in Magnolia, it could be very possible. I will inform Master Makarov right away, and have the hunters there begin an investigation." He excused himself before going in search of a phone to use to contact Master.

"That's one mystery possibly solved," Lucy said. "That still leaves a million more, though."

I chuckled, "A million doesn't sound _so_ bad."

"So," she said, meeting my eyes, "Gajeel said you thought you might be pregnant."

"Yeah." I looked down at the wrist with the moon tattoo. "It turned red, so that's the only explanation I could come up with. What did yours do?"

She held out her wrist, displaying three moon tattoos. "I just got more. But, like I told Gajeel, that doesn't mean anything. Dragon Slayers aren't very well understood, so yours could mean something. Though…" she trailed off, frowning.

"What?"

"The doctors told Gajeel that there weren't any signs of a pregnancy. It's still early, though, so maybe they just can't tell yet."

"Maybe," I frowned, wondering if the color change had anything to do with my suddenly passing out.

A small snore brought my attention to Silas, and I smiled, He had fallen asleep curled up against me. As gently as I could, I shifted the blanket up over him, holding him on my lap with his head resting against my chest. "What was Silas talking about earlier, about me screaming?"

"I wasn't here when it happened," Lucy told me, shaking her head. "Gajeel said you just started screaming out of nowhere, and that the doctors couldn't figure out why."

"That's strange." I tried to remember what happened right before I passed out, but my memory was still too foggy. I remembered leaving Gajeel's room after getting angry about how he had treated Darrick, but it was a blur after that.

"We'll get to the bottom if it, Levy," Lucy smiled, "so don't worry."

"I'll try not to," I said, smiling back.

"Councilman, please, you mustn't—"

"Shrimp!" Gajeel threw the door of my room open and ran inside, about three nurses coming in after him. "Are you alright? When did you wake up?"

"Gajeel?" I gasped. "I thought you were resting?"

"He woke up a few moments ago," one of the nurses explained. "We're very sorry. We told him we weren't sure if you were ready for visitors, and that he was still too weak to get out of bed."

"Sit down, you idiot," I sighed, pointing to the chair beside my bed. "You should do what the nurses tell you."

"I wasn't staying in that damned room if you were awake in here," he snapped, waving off the attempts of the nurses to help him.

"We'll be fine in here," I told them. "I'm sorry for the trouble. Thank you." They nodded, shutting the door behind them as they left.

"We're quite the pair, aren't we?" I giggled, looking at him in his hospital gown, and listening to the steady beep of my heart monitor.

"This isn't a joke, Shrimp," he frowned. "I was seriously scared shitless when you passed out."

"How do you think I felt when you got shot and poisoned the _first_ time?" I asked. "And you were poisoned a second time. What else can I do, Gajeel, other than laugh? I've been back less than a week, and we're already getting into trouble."

"Maybe it would have been better if you hadn't come back," he sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

"What?" I asked, all humor leaving my voice.

"I'm gonna give you two some privacy," Lucy said, slipping Silas out of my lap and going out into the hallway.

"I'm not saying I wish you hadn't come, but maybe it would have been better to not bring you back. I mean, you two were a lot safer away from all of this," Gajeel said.

"Gajeel, you can't protect me from every little thing," I told him, reaching down and grabbing his hand. "If I wasn't prepared for this, I wouldn't have come back with you."

"What if _I'm_ not prepared for it?" He sighed.

I smiled, squeezing his hand. "I was a hunter long before I met you, so don't worry about me. I've had it worse than this and survived."

"Yeah, well, that bastard Astaroth was involved last time, too," he growled.

"Astaroth is dead," I told him, "so nothing like that will happen again." When he didn't respond—or meet my eyes—I frowned. "Gajeel?"

"It's nothing," he sighed, finally meeting my eyes. "I just can't help but worry about ya, Shrimp. Especially now that we know someone is definitely after me. If anything were to happen to you or Silas, I don't know what I'd do. I just got you back."

"Nothing is going to happen to us," I smiled. I could tell he was still hiding something from me, but I let it go.

Gajeel opened his mouth to say something as there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" I called. I was surprised when Darrick entered the room, followed by Natsu.

I ignored Gajeel's huff, and smiled at the two of them. "Natsu, Darrick, it's good to see you."

"Hey Levy," Natsu grinned. "I see metal head snuck out of his room to see you."

"Yeah," I nodded, chuckling when Gajeel grumbled insults under his breath.

"I met Darrick here back at Fairy Tail earlier, and he wanted to come along when I said I was coming to visit," Natsu said.

"I hope that's alright," Darrick added. "I got you some flowers."

"Thank you," I smiled, taking the bouquet of Tiger-Lilies. "These are my favorite."

"Really?" He asked, his gold eyes lighting up. "Then I'm glad I went with those instead of roses."

"Me too."

"What are you doing here, Salamander?" Gajeel asked, sounding angry.

"I wanted to see Levy, and I also needed to talk to you." I noticed the pointed look he gave Gajeel, and the way Gajeel's shoulders tensed slightly in response.

"Fine. We can go back to my room." He turned to me, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," I nodded, giving him a questioning frown.

He stopped at the door, looking at Darrick. "You're coming, too."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I don't want him in here alone with you," he said, bluntly.

"Gajeel!" I snapped. "Darrick is—"

"I understand," Darrick nodded. "After everything that has been happening lately, being cautious is understandable. I'll see you later, Levy," he smiled as he followed Natsu.

"Gajeel—" I began but he cut me off. "I still don't trust him, Shrimp, and I'm not taking any chances. Sorry."

"Fine," I sighed, shaking my head. "But you should apologize to Darrick, not me."

"If he proves himself trustworthy, then I will," he nodded, closing the door behind him as he left me alone.

"Gajeel," I mumbled, "I love you, but you can be over-protective sometimes."

I chuckled to myself, knowing that was part of the reason I loved him. He went to any lengths for those he cared for. _I mean, he didn't give up on me for six years, even after I had just ran away._ Most men probably wouldn't have done that. Hell, most probably would have hated me for disappearing like that. _That's why I'm going to trust him—even if he is being rude to Darrick. I'm going to let Darrick prove to Gajeel that he is trustworthy._

"At least, I hope he is," I sighed.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I really _didn't_ have much reason to trust Darrick. Sure, he had saved me from that Shadow Dweller in Magnolia, but that didn't mean I could completely trust him.

However, for some reason I felt like I could. _I don't know what it is about him, but I really do feel like I can trust Darrick._


	7. 6: Deal With a Demon

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Okay, Salamander, what is it?" I asked as soon as we got back to my room.

I growled when he burst into laughter. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You look ridiculous in that hospital gown!" He gasped, still bent over laughing.

"You're an idiot," I sighed, grabbing my pants from a bag of clothes Lily had brought for me, and pulling them on. I threw the gown on the floor, then sat on the bed. "Better? Now talk."

"You sure you want to talk with him in here?" Natsu asked, pointing to Darrick.

"He ain't gonna tell anyone anything he hears in here," I said, giving Darrick a threatening glare.

"I was a member of the special forces," he said, "I know when to keep my mouth shut."

"Good," I nodded, "because only Salamander, Lily, you, and me know any of this." I turned back to Natsu, waiting.

"It's about the syringe," he began.

"It has the symbol," I guessed. When he nodded, I cursed. "It's turning up in even more places now."

"I think something big is about to happen," Natsu said, crossing his arms as he thought. "With the attacks on Fairy Tail, and the two assassination attempts on you, I'd say they're planning something."

"I didn't think the attacks were connected, though," I frowned.

"At first I didn't think so. But, now it's all too much of a coincidence. They have to be related in some way."

"Who are 'they' exactly?" Darrick asked, looking completely lost.

I sighed, grabbing the bullet from the stand beside my bed and tossing it to him. He nearly dropped it when he got a good look at the symbol. "This is the bullet you were shot with? The one containing poison?"

"Yeah."

"And the syringe of poison you were stabbed with also had this symbol?"

"These aren't the first times I've seen it," I admitted. "I saw it for the first time about a year ago branded into the skin of a demon that attacked me."

"Why haven't you told anyone about this?" He asked. "Something like this, well, shouldn't you take it to the council?"

"Those idiots won't do anything but cause panic," I snapped. "Salamander, Lily, and I can handle it."

"You should at least tell Makarov about it," Darrick said.

"I said we can handle it," I growled, "and you'd better keep quiet about it."

"I will," he nodded, "but I'm not so sure keeping it to ourselves is the best thing—"

"Gajeel!"

"Luce, what's wrong?" Natsu asked, going to his worried-looking wife.

"It's Levy," she said.

**_~Levy~_**

After Gajeel left with Darrick and Natsu, Lucy came back into the room.

"Where's Silas?" I asked.

"He went with Lily to go get some dinner," she chuckled. "That cat is a big softie. For such a tough guy, he's actually really good with kids. The girls love him."

"You're probably wanting to get back to Magnolia with them," I sighed, "sorry for keeping you here so long."

"Don't apologize," Lucy smiled, grabbing my hands. "The girls love staying with Gray and Juvia, and Juvia really enjoys playing with them."

"I wonder what the three of them are talking about in there."

"I think it's council stuff," Lucy said, knowing I was talking about Gajeel and the others.

"But Darrick is with them," I frowned.

She shrugged. "It beats me. Gajeel, Natsu, and Lily have been having all kinds of secret council conversations lately. Even before you came back they had them. I don't think even Master knows what they're about."

"Hmm," I murmured, thinking. _What could they be talking about? It's obviously important if they had to go into another room to talk about it, but I don't understand why Gajeel would let Darrick hear their conversation over me. He just said he didn't trust him, so it doesn't really make sense. _Then again, Gajeel did a lot of things that didn't really make sense to me. _I'm sure he's got a reason._

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Lucy smiled. "If it's important, Gajeel will tell you."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Ah!" I gasped, looking down at my wrist when my mark suddenly burned.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

I continued staring at my mark, frowning. The blood red moon was still there, and it didn't seem to have changed at all. "That was weird. It burned, but then it…" I trailed off when I looked back up and the room was empty. Actually, I wasn't even in the hospital anymore. I was standing in the middle of the forest, and it was almost too dark to see anything. I squinted, trying to figure out where I was, or how I had gotten there.

"Lu-chan!" I called out, hoping she could hear me. _I was just talking to her, so she can't be far, right?_ I walked forward, and stopped when I felt a familiar weight attached to my right thigh. My gun.

I hadn't carried it since I left Fairy Tail. Admittedly, I missed the feel of its weight on my thigh, knowing I could protect myself so easily if I needed to. _That reminds me…I'm going to start training again as soon as I'm released from the hospital._

"It's good to see you again."

I gasped, spinning around in the darkness, trying to find the source of the voice. When he stepped into the light of the clearing I was in, my heart skipped a beat.

"It's been a while, Sunshine."

"No way," I whispered, staring into Marley's blue eyes. "You're dead. I killed you!"

"That was quite the scene you pulled back then," he chuckled. "I still can't believe how reckless you were, detonating an explosion lacrima like that. You could'a got hurt a lot worse than ya did."

"Don't patronize me," I spat. "Don't you _dare_ act like you care what happens to me. You watched me grow up just so you could kill me, isn't that right?"

"I think now perhaps I was too eager back then," he sighed, as if he were discussing something simple. "Instead of using Gajeel, I probably should have just killed him."

"That doesn't matter now, because you're dead," I practically snarled. "I don't know what's going on here, but I do know that. You have been dead for six years."

He didn't answer. Instead, he just laughed. The sound made my blood boil, and I instinctively reached for my gun to shoot him. However, it was no longer there.

"Looking for something?" Marley chuckled. When I looked back up at him, he was no longer Marley, but Astaroth. And he was holding my gun. Before I could react, he shot me right between the eyes.

I fell back, strangely still alive, and found myself staring into a pair of worried crimson eyes. "Gajeel?" I asked, my hand shooting to my head and feeling where the bullet hole should have been. The skin felt a little irritated, but there was no hole—and there was no Astaroth.

**_~Gajeel~_**

"It's Levy," Lucy told us, fear bright in her brown eyes.

That was all I needed to hear before I went sprinting down the hallway. "She was sitting there talking to me one minute, and then she went quiet and her face just kind of went blank. I can't get her to respond to me," she explained as she ran after me.

"Shrimp!" I snapped as soon as I reached the room. She was staring straight ahead, and looked almost as if she were in a trance. I put my hands on her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes, hoping for at least a _little_ bit of a reaction.

Nothing.

"Shrimp, answer me!" I pleaded, shaking her a little. Still nothing. "What the hell?!"

"Everything was fine a few minutes ago," Lucy said, sounding on the verge of tears. "She looked down at the mark on her arm, and I asked what was wrong, but she never answered me. When she looked back up, her face just went blank and she stopped responding to me."

"Come on, Shrimp, snap out of it!" I said, panic squeezing tightly on my lungs.

"Stand back," Darrick suddenly said, "I think I know how to help her."

With a nod from Natsu, I took a step back, eyeing him suspiciously. When he pulled out a gun, I reacted before I had time to think about it. I twisted his arm behind him and slammed his face into the floor. With my free hand, I pressed his face into the cracked tiles a little harder. "What the hell do you think you're doing," I growled.

"If you get off, I'll explain," he mumbled against the floor.

"No."

He sighed. "You're wasting time. At least get off my face so I can talk."

I released my hold on his head, but kept him pinned firmly to the floor. "Talk. What the hell were you trying to do?"

"That is a special gun," he said. "Check the bullets if you don't believe me. You'll find that they are made of a sort of thin plastic, and they're filled with a light blue gas. When they hit their target, they burst and release the gas inside, thus enabling the target—if aimed correctly—to inhale it."

"What's it do?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"That's complicated," he said. When I pulled him pack and slammed him back into the floor, though, he continued. "It kills demons that specialize in possession. I believe Levy is being possessed right now, and that's why she isn't responding. The longer we wait, though, the more of a hold the demon will have over her."

"What will the gas do if she isn't being possessed?" I asked.

"Smell bad," he answered, chuckling, despite his position.

"I think we should trust him," Lucy said.

I gaped at her. "This guy just pulled a gun out and tried to shoot Shrimp, and you think we should _trust_ him?"

"He told the truth about the bullets," Natsu said, checking the gun.

"You too?" I groaned.

"Gajeel, let him try," Lucy pleaded.

Cursing, I got off Darrick and allowed him to stand. "You try _anything_," I growled, grabbing him by the front of the shirt, "and I'll kill you on the spot."

"Deal," he nodded, accepting the gun from Natsu once I released him. As soon as the gun was in his hands, he aimed and pulled the trigger. I had to fight every instinct in me to not rush in front of Levy as the bullet zoomed towards her.

The bullet hit her between the eyes, and she breathed in the blue gas that burst from it before falling back. I caught her, staring at her as she blinked and her hazel eyes cleared. "Gajeel?" She asked, frowning. Her hand went to her forehead and felt where the bullet had hit her, causing her frown to deepen.

"Thank god," I sighed, pulling her against my chest.

"What happened?" She asked.

"That's what we'd like to know," Lucy said. "What happened to your mark?"

"It burned," she answered. "When I looked back up, I was suddenly in the middle of a forest, and—"

I pulled away when she cut off, noticing how fast her heart was beating. "And what?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head.

"You were being possessed," Darrick said.

"What?" She gasped. "How? I haven't sensed any demons at all."

"I don't know," he told her, frowning.

"If she was possessed, then some kind of demon had the chance to get close to her," I said, glaring at Darrick. "It seems kind of suspicious that more attacks started happening when you showed up, and somehow you always seem to have the answers."

"What are you implying?" He asked, defensively.

I took a step towards him. "Maybe _you_ led whatever possessed Shrimp right to her, and then killed it so you could get on our good side."

He snorted. "Gajeel, why would I do that? Wouldn't it be easier to gain your trust by appearing when _nothing_ suspicious is going on? Why would I bring a demon all the way here just to possess Levy so I could kill it? That seems like an awful lot of work.

"And besides," he continued, "I joined Fairy Tail at the request of Makarov. I didn't seek you guys out. He seems to trust me, so why can't you?"

"Somethin' about you just rubs me the wrong way," I growled, nose-to-nose with him now. He was only a couple of inches shorter than I was, but he matched me in muscle. If one of us threw a punch, it would be one hell of a fight. _All the more reason maybe I _should_ punch the golden-eyed bastard._

"Gajeel," Levy snapped.

I turned to her, "what?"

"Knock off the testosterone show," she sighed. "There are more important things to worry about right now than either of you defending your man pride."

Darrick's gape matched mine as the fight left both of us. Natsu snickered, causing me to shoot him a glare. "Shrimp, I wasn't—"

"Our first priority should be finding out who is trying so hard to kill you," she went on, ignoring me. "Natsu, didn't you say the man who shot Gajeel is in custody?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Have you gotten any information out of him?"

Natsu glanced at me, telling me that they had, before turning to Levy and shaking his head. "The guy has been as uncooperative as a stone wall."

"Hmm," she frowned. "Well, I'm sure he'll crack eventually. As for the poison, has there been any analysis done on it? If Wendy and Porlyusica found a cure that means they might know something about it. I'll go to Porlyusica's as soon as they release me from the hospital."

"What about the Shadow Dwellers?" Lucy asked.

"What about 'em?" I frowned.

"You weren't here when we got an idea of what might be attacking hunters from Fairy Tail," Levy explained. "Because of the Shadow Dweller sighting in town, it's very possible that that's what attacked Juvia and Laxus."

"Why would they?" I asked. "Shadow Dwellers don't come into populated areas."

"Maybe they're being controlled by someone," Darrick suggested.

"No one can control a Shadow Dweller," I scoffed.

"No," Levy said, her brows scrunched together as she thought, "actually, I agree with Darrick. If it was a powerful demon, they would easily be able to control Shadow Dwellers—or at least be able to influence them to do what they want them to."

"But why would a demon want Shadow Dwellers to attack Fairy Tail hunters?" Lucy asked.

"Revenge, most likely," Levy said, her face still contorted in thought. "But who is their ultimate target?"

It was quiet for a few seconds, and then everyone's eyes settled on me.

"Damn," I grumbled. "Now I suppose I need to make a list of all the demons I've pissed off recently, right?"

"How long have the death threats been coming?" Levy asked, meeting my eyes.

"I don't know," I shrugged.

"I'm talking about the ones that you've been trying harder to hide from me. I'm guessing you've received a few from a single person or group, so how long have _those_ been coming?"

"About a year," I sighed. _Damn it, Shrimp. Sometimes I wish you weren't so smart. It's impossible to hide anything from you._ But, I reminded myself, there was one thing I _had_ to keep hidden for as long as possible. If she saw it, things were bound to end badly.

"Did you kill any major demons a year ago?"

"Not that I can remember," I frowned, thinking hard. "We passed a new demon law around that time, but I don't see why that would cause a demon to want to kill me."

"What was the law?" She asked.

"Well, there are the old species treaties that exist between the hunters' council and certain breeds of demons," Lucy began explaining, "like the Exceed. It's kind of like that, only expanded to individual treaties. If a demon wants to live at peace with humans, and can prove it by being on a sort of probation for a year, then we'll give them a "protection slip". This slip gives them the same rights as the species with treaties and the half-demons. After we made it legal for half-demons to marry humans, and made it illegal to ostracize humans who have been marked, it sparked a big commotion among humans, but never among the demons."

"I mean, there were some that didn't like it because they think demons are better than humans, but those are the usual ones that already cause trouble and are hunted by demon hunters," I added.

"I just had a thought," Levy frowned. "How many council members did you kick off the council when you took over three years ago?"

"Well, there are seven of us total," I said. "Org and Michello were kicked off, Yajima retired right before I took over, and the former head of the council, Rone, was sent to prison for leading the special ops team that killed half-demon children in secret."

"Could it be possible that Org or Michello made a deal with a demon in order to get revenge?" Levy asked.

I frowned. I hadn't ever considered that. Actually, that _was_ quite possible. They had been pissed when I kicked them out, and had vowed to take me down. So, I guess they could have.

"There's a problem with that, though," Lucy said. "Org and Michello hate demons more than anyone. That's why they went so far to get rid of them. There's no way either of them would team up with a demon."

"But, could their hatred of Gajeel outweigh their hatred of generic demons?"

We grew quiet, knowing the answer. "Well, damn," I sighed.

"At least now we know who to look for," Natsu said. "I'll have Lily tell his investigation team to search for the two ex-council members."

"That's all well and good," Darrick frowned, "but I think you're all forgetting something."

"And what's that?" I snapped.

"What was possessing Levy? And why?" He asked, looking at Shrimp.

"And why did my mark change colors?" She sighed.

"Damn, this is annoying!" I growled. "As soon as we figure out one thing, a hundred other questions come up!"

"We can get to those questions later," she told me, smiling. "Let's just focus on finding Org and Michello for now."

I opened my mouth to argue that she was more important, but was cut off when Lily and Silas entered the room. "Daddy!" Silas gleefully jumped into my arms, wrapping his arms around my neck. "I'm glad you're better now."

"You bet, kiddo," I grinned. "You smell like fish," I frowned, sniffing him.

"Delicious fish!" I turned around when Happy flew into the room, followed by his kitten, Aiden.

"Hey, little buddy!" Natsu chuckled. "When did you get here?"

"We ran into them in town while going to dinner," Silas said. "So, they went with us to a sushi house!"

"Sounds gross," I chuckled. He puffed out his cheeks in the same way Shrimp did when she pouted, causing me to laugh.

We all looked up when someone knocked on the door. One of Lily's guards from the investigation team was standing in the doorway, a serious look on his face. "I apologize for interrupting, but there is an urgent matter at Era, which needs councilmen Redfox, Dragneel, and Lily's attention."

"Even me?" I sighed, knowing it was bad if they came to the hospital to get me.

"Yes, sir," he nodded. "Our prisoner, the man who shot you, has been murdered."


	8. 7: Unanswered Questions

"What the hell happened?" I snapped as we all rushed back to where the man who shot me was supposed to have been held.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I do not know. It happened a few hours ago while I was out on patrol."

"Damn," I growled. _Without him, it's going to be harder to track down who is trying to kill me! And, I'll never know his connection to that symbol._ "That's it!"

"What's it?" Natsu asked, frowning.

"He must have been murdered by whoever stuck me with that syringe. Since it had the same symbol, maybe whoever hired them sent the new guy in to kill the other one so he wouldn't get the chance to talk!"

"I'm glad we got what we could out of him before that, though," Natsu sighed.

"You two still need to tell me what you found out from him," I reminded them.

"Later," Lily nodded. Once we reached Era, Lily immediately gathered his guards and directed them to search the area for anyone suspicious.

"Tch," I hissed, covering my nose as we neared his cell. "What's that smell?"

Natsu, having a dragon slayer nose like me, covered his as well, coughing a little. "That's the same smell the other guy had when he died from that new poison. I'm guessing you're theory about the syringe guy killing him was right."

I nodded, peering into the cell at the dead man. From the looks of him, it had most definitely been poison that killed him, confirming my suspicions. _Damn, this really isn't good. If they can sneak into Era, who knows what they're capable of? I mean, they _did_ manage to stick a syringe in my neck in the middle of the street, and I didn't even notice. Whoever this group is, I can tell they're going to be a problem…_

"Lily," I said, hearing him finally catch up to us after finishing with his guards.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Go back to the hospital and stay with Levy and Silas. We left that bastard Darrick there, and I don't want him being alone with them for very long."

"You still don't trust him?" He frowned.

"Of course not!" I spat. "For all we know, he could be the other guy trying to kill me. It's just too damn convenient that he showed up now."

"Are you sure it's just because you might be jealous of him?" Natsu smirked.

"Why the hell would I be jealous of him?"

"Because he's good-looking, and Levy noticed," he grinned.

"You—"

"And, he did save her twice now, so that could be it, too."

"You tryin' to pick a fight, Salamander?" I growled.

"Enough," Lily told us, shaking his head as if we were bickering children. "I'll go back to the hospital. Natsu, stop picking a fight. Gajeel, stop letting him get to you. My guards should be returning within the hour, so I'll have to come back when they get here."

I nodded, grumbling under my breath about getting scolded by a damned cat. "I'll finish up quickly here, then go back. I'm sure the doctor is having a fit that I left, anyways."

Lily nodded before leaving Natsu and I. "Come on, Salamander. Let's see what we can find."

**_~Levy~_**

"I wonder who could have snuck into Era," Darrick frowned, pacing the length of my hospital room.

"I don't know." From what I had heard, Era was incredibly secure, so it would have been incredibly difficult for someone to sneak into.

"Maybe it was another Shadow Dweller," Lucy pondered allowed.

"There are anti-demon charms all over the place," Darrick sighed. "If any tried to get in without the proper clearance, they would be killed immediately."

"Didn't you say Gajeel was poisoned again?" I asked, looking up at Lucy.

She nodded. "Apparently, somebody stuck a syringe in his neck while he was fighting that Shadow Dweller."

"It's probably the same person who killed the prisoner," I murmured. "Whoever this organization is, they're after Gajeel. I don't know why, but it looks like they're going to go to some extreme lengths until they get him, too."

"Mommy," Silas said from his place on the floor where he was playing with Aiden, "is daddy going to be okay?"

"Don't you worry about him," I chuckled, "it's going to take a lot more than that to hurt your daddy."

"Aye!" Aiden cheered, causing all of us to laugh. Well, all of us except Darrick. He had stopped his pacing, but was staring out the window with a frown on his face.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's quite possible there is a rat in the council. Or at least in the guards stationed inside of Era. How else would that group be getting so much information about Gajeel's whereabouts? And, that would explain how they were able to gain access to the prisoner."

"I think you're right," I nodded. "That certainly would explain a lot. Now we just need to figure out who this group is, and why they're after Gajeel. If Org or Michello did join forces with a demon, we need to find them as quickly as possible."

"May I speak to you—_alone_?" Darrick suddenly asked, his gold eyes meeting mine.

"Uh…" I looked to Lucy, who shrugged. "Sure."

"Come on, you three. Let's go into the hallway," Lucy said, carrying Silas out of the room as Happy and Aiden flew behind her.

When the door shut, I looked at Darrick. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I understand that you're concerned about everything happening with Gajeel, but I think you should be focusing on your own problems, too," he said, getting straight to the point. "Your mark suddenly turned red—the color of a normal mark—and yesterday you had some sort of episode and passed out for several hours. Not to mention the fact that less than an hour ago you were possessed by something."

"I appreciate you being concerned, but I need to worry about Gajeel's problem first," I smiled. "I'll just drive myself crazy worrying about my mark and what happened when I passed out."

"Wait a minute," he frowned, pacing at the foot of my bed.

"What?"

"I don't think that Shadow Dweller that Gajeel and Lily killed came here after Gajeel," he said.

"Why not?" I frowned.

"I believe it was after you." He stopped pacing, and met my eyes.

"What?" I gasped. "Why would it be after me?"

"I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "But, you were attacked in Magnolia, and then one showed up here right after you passed out. What if it had something to do with you passing out? It could have done something to you and you might not have even realized it."

"I thought they killed it outside the hospital," I frowned.

"They did," he murmured, nodding. "But, what if they just caught it after it had already been inside? Because they are usually nocturnal, and you were attacked in the day, it could have gone into hiding until it got dark. Then, because it was weakened from coming out in the daytime to attack you, it sought out food—the woman Gajeel and Lily saved."

"Speaking of that woman," I frowned, "is it possible that _she_ is the one who injected the poison into Gajeel?"

"Actually, she seems to be the most likely candidate right now. I'll—"

"Sorry for the interruption," Lily said, coming into the room. "Gajeel made me come back here."

I sighed. "He didn't want me to be alone with Darrick?"

With a chuckle, he nodded. "You know how he is."

"I do, but Darrick isn't—"

"It's fine," Darrick smiled. "Gajeel is doing what he feels is right for his family. I can't blame him for that. And, anyways, Lily showed up at the perfect time."

"I did?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you remember what the woman you and Gajeel saved from the Shadow Dweller looked like?"

"I do," he nodded.

"Levy and I thought that perhaps she was the one who poisoned Gajeel the second time. And, she would be in town, so she would have access to the prisoner."

"Some of my men are out searching for her now," Lily said. "I had a similar thought on the way to Era, so I sent a few of my men after her."

Both men looked at me when I got out of the bed, grabbing onto the railing when my legs threatened to give out.

"What are you doing?" Darrick asked, rushing over to me.

"I'm going to get out of this bed and help," I told him. "My books are in Gajeel's room, so I'm going to walk there and get them."

"I can—"

"Darrick, I'm fine. I can't stay here doing nothing any longer. Gajeel is injured and he's doing what he can, so I will too."

"And you can," he chuckled, "but let me go get the books and bring them to you in here. You went through a lot, so—"

"How would you know?" I snapped, knowing I was being unfair by getting mad at him. "Hell, _I_ don't even know what I went through, so how can we be so sure it wasn't just nothing?"

"Someone who screamed like that wasn't going through nothing," Lily said, quietly.

"I feel fine."

"Levy, please, at least let me help you," Darrick urged.

"Fine," I sighed, allowing him to take my arm. "I'm a grown woman," I grumbled angrily as we walked down the hallway, "so it's ridiculous that you have to help me walk like some old lady."

"Not all grown women go through what you just did in twenty-four hours, either," he chuckled.

"Well, I'm not going to worry about it until we get Gajeel's problem solved," I said.

He frowned. "_I_ for one am going to worry. If there are Shadow Dwellers after you, then you should too."

"You think they're after Levy?" Lily asked. Darrick filled him in on his theory, and Lily's face fell into a grim expression. "That makes sense," he nodded, "but why are they after her?"

"It could have something to do with her mark," Darrick said.

"If that's true, why did it attack Juvia and Laxus, though?"

"It's common knowledge that Shadow Dwellers aren't the most intelligent species of demon," Darrick began, "so, maybe they confused them with Levy."

"How?" I frowned. Juvia was understandable because she had blue hair, but Laxus was a blonde-haired man.

"They could have been given instructions to attack a blue-haired woman by whoever is controlling them. When they attacked Juvia, perhaps they were then told that you smelled like a dragon slayer—because you're always around Gajeel."

"Laxus told Master that he had been wearing a cloak when he was attacked, so the Shadow Dweller probably didn't see him before it attacked."

"Well, that could explain why it didn't kill them. Once it realized it had the wrong target, it ran away," I nodded.

"Do you know of anyone who would want you dead?" Darrick asked.

"I've been away for six years, so I can't think of anyone."

"Away?"

"I left Fairy Tail six years ago, and only recently came back. A few days ago, actually."

"It must be someone from your past, then," he murmured.

"I don't know," I sighed. "Like I said, let's focus on Gajeel's problem first. Then I'll—"

"Tell me," Darrick said, "what did you see while you were possessed earlier?"

"I don't remember," I lied, occupying myself with picking up the bag of books as we reached Gajeel's room.

He took it from me and slung it over his shoulder before meeting my eyes. "Please, Levy. It may be helpful."

"Let's go back to the room first," I told him, wanting to put it off.

"Fine." He helped me back to my room and placed the bag of books on the bed after I had sat down. "So, what did you see?" He and Lily both looked at me expectantly, and I knew there was no getting out of it.

I took a deep breath and stared down at my bare feet. "Astaroth."

"What?!" Gajeel exclaimed, gaping at me from the doorway. "You saw _Astaroth_ when you were possessed?"

"But it isn't a big deal," I said, hurriedly. _Crap! I didn't want Gajeel to know about my vision. Astaroth is dead and gone, so there's no need to worry about it._

"Why didn't you tell me that as soon as you woke up?" He snapped.

"Because it isn't—"

"Don't tell me it isn't a big deal! That bastard nearly killed us both the last time he showed up, so it's actually a really big deal, Levy!" I knew from the use of my name that he was angry.

"This is why I didn't tell you," I sighed, "I knew you would worry. But he's dead, you saw him turn to dust, remember?"

"That doesn't change the fact that you saw him while being possessed by something. What if he was the one possessing you?"

"He's dead, Gajeel!" I snapped.

"He—"

"I think it's time to tell her," Darrick said, quietly, causing all of us to fall silent.

I looked to Gajeel. "Tell me what?"

"Would you shut the hell up?" Gajeel growled at Darrick. "Stay out of this."

"I'm a member of Fairy Tail now, so if you two are in trouble it affects me too. Tell her."

"No."

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"Gajeel, I think Darrick is right," Lily nodded. "We should tell her."

"We're not telling her!" He snapped.

"Tell me what?!" I asked again, loud enough to get their attention.

"Astaroth's followers are on the rise," Darrick said while Gajeel cursed at him.

"How do you know?" I asked.

He looked to Gajeel, and I followed his gaze. I met Gajeel's eyes and refused to look away.

"Damn it," he grumbled, pulling something out of his pocket.

"What's that?"

He handed it to me. "This is the bullet I was shot with. For the last year I have come across the symbol on that a few times. It was also on the syringe that contained the poison I was injected with yesterday."

"This is Astaroth's symbol," I said, barely above a whisper. I remembered it from the books I had read about him. Several different cults had worshipped him over the years, and each group had used that symbol to represent themselves. Demons who followed Astaroth usually had that symbol branded into their skin as well, showing that they were his servants.

"A demon attacked me a while ago and had that symbol on them. Then, I got a letter, and then I was shot with that bullet. Next was the syringe."

"Why are Astaroth's followers after you?"

"In the official report, we told the old council that Gajeel killed Astaroth," Lily said. "Because you left, and we knew you wouldn't want the attention that would surely come from killing such a famous demon, we told the pubic that it had been Gajeel to finish him."

"Why did they wait six years before coming after him, though?"

"Man power, most likely," Lily shrugged. "We have been monitoring the activity of these cults, and they seem to have been growing in numbers, especially recently. If Org or Michello had joined with such a group in order to take down Gajeel, that could explain their recent rise and sudden movement."

"That's why your vision of Astaroth is so important," Darrick said. "I'm not sure what it means, but I'd bet it's bad."

"Well, shit," I breathed.

"Shit's right," Gajeel agreed.

"You idiot!" I suddenly snapped, causing them to jump. "Why didn't you tell me this before now? Maybe I could have been a little more concerned when I saw Astaroth in a vision."

"I think we both need to be a little more open with each other," he frowned, pointedly.

I couldn't help but smile. "Probably."

"Levy?" Lucy asked, coming back into the room with Silas, Happy, and Aiden. "Sorry, Silas was asking for you."

"Sorry to have kept you waiting so long," I smiled, pulling Silas into my lap and hugging him.

"When can we go home?" He whined, leaning against me.

"Tomorrow morning," I told him. "You're going to have a sleepover with Aunt Lucy and the girls for tonight, and I'll come back to Magnolia on the first train, alright?"

"I get to stay at Layla's?" He asked, perking up.

Lucy giggled. "She had the same reaction.

"I want to come!" Aiden shouted, flying above us.

"Happy?" Lucy asked.

"We'll ask Carla when we get home," he nodded.

"Aye!" Aiden cried.

"Gajeel, my men should be returning soon, so I should be at the council when they arrive," Lily said.

Gajeel nodded. "There are a few things I have to take care of, too. Shrimp, will you be alright for a few hours?"

"Go," I smiled, "I'll be fine."

"We should get home as well," Lucy sighed. She hugged me, then followed the others.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I told Silas, giving him another hug. "I love you."

"Love you too," he said, running after Lucy.

"Should you be heading back?" I asked Darrick once everyone was gone.

He shook his head, taking a seat in the chair beside my bed. "I thought you might want some help with those books," he smiled.

"Thanks," I told him, smiling back.

It grew quiet as we began reading, but I found myself unable to focus on the books at all. _Astaroth's followers are after Gajeel, and I saw Astaroth in a vision while being possessed. Are the shadow dwellers also connected to Astaroth, or are they under someone else's control entirely?_

There were still so many unanswered questions, and we still seemed so far away from discovering the truth about any of them. _They must be connected in some way. But how?_


	9. 8: Happy Birthday

**_~Gajeel~_**

I stretched as I woke up, rubbing my still-sore side. It was nearly healed, but still hurt like hell. I immediately wondered how Shrimp was feeling, so I made my way to her room.

When I had returned to the hospital the night before, she had already fallen asleep, and Darrick had already returned to Magnolia. Although I hadn't liked leaving him here alone with her, I had made sure the nurses watched her room closely until he left.

"Good morning," she smiled through a mouthful of some kind of hospital food.

"Mornin'," I chuckled. "Ready to go home?"

She moaned, "yes please! I am going to go crazy if I have to stay here one more day! I'd rather stay in the Fairy Tail infirmary."

"Your discharge papers should be ready by now. I had them start on both of ours last night."

"You're leaving too?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"I'm not going back to Fairy Tail, though," I nodded. "I'm heading over to the council to check on their progress with the case, then I'll come home as soon as I can."

"Do what you need to," she smiled.

"Let's go out this weekend," I said, "just the two of us. We can forget about everything that's been going on, and just have some time to ourselves."

"That sounds wonderful," she smiled.

"Great," I grinned. "I'll ask blondie to watch Silas, and then we can go out to dinner at a nice restaurant."

"I'd much rather just stay in," she said. When she realized the insinuation, her face turned scarlet. "I-I mean, we could watch a movie or something," she added, quickly.

I gave her a kiss before heading for the door, knowing I needed to get to the council. "I like the sounds of _or something_." I laughed as I left, listening to her shout in embarrassed protest.

"You're in a good mood this morning," Natsu chuckled, meeting me by the council doors.

"So?" I snapped.

"And, it's gone," he snickered.

"What have the guards found out?" I asked, ignoring him.

"Lily's men found the woman. Actually, she's a half-demon."

"Get anything from her?"

"She acted innocent at first, but about an hour ago she confessed to poisoning you. She even has Astaroth's mark branded on her back, so she's definitely one of his followers."

"Damn," I sighed. "Was getting attacked just an act, then? Or did she use it as an opportunity to do what she was sent here to?"

"Probably the latter," Natsu nodded. "I'd say that Shadow Dweller could smell she was a half-breed, thought that might be tasty, and attacked her. While she easily could have killed it, she knew you and Lily would save her, and that she'd have the perfect opportunity to get up-close and personal in order to stab you with that syringe."

"Sneaky bastard," I growled. "Come on, then. I want to talk to her."

**_~Levy~_**

"Mommy!" Silas shrieked as soon as I opened the doors to headquarters.

"Hey there," I chuckled, kissing him on the cheek. "Did you have fun with Layla?"

"Yes," he nodded, excitedly. "Guess what?!"

"What?" I asked.

"She taught me something cool! Wanna see?"

I looked to Lucy, who was grinning like a woman with a secret. Turning back to Silas, I nodded. "Sure."

He took a step back, then took a deep breath. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" He shouted. Out of his mouth came a small funnel that resembled Gajeel's breath attack. A few shards of iron fell to the floor a few feet in front of him, and pride radiated off him as if he had just taken down a mountain.

"Amazing!" I smiled. "Gajeel is going to be excited to see how awesome you're getting."

"Gihi," he giggled, grinning.

"Come on, Silas!" Layla called, grabbing his hand and taking off.

"They're totally going to get married someday," Lucy smirked as I sat next to her at the table.

"I don't want to think about it," I groaned. "I feel old as it is."

"Speaking of old, wasn't your birthday just a little while ago?"

"Who's birthday?" Darrick asked, sitting on the other side of the table.

"Levy's," Lucy chuckled. "She turned—" I threw my hand over her mouth, shooting her a glare.

"Old," I said. "Leave it at that."

"You're not _that_ old," Darrick smirked. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think."

"How old are _you_?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He leaned forward, a mischievous grin spreading across his face, "older than you'd think."

Lucy snorted, nearly spitting tea all over me. "I bet you're barely twenty."

"Wrong," he informed her. "I'm actually a year older than Gajeel."

"What?!" Lucy and I gasped at the same time. "No way!"

He nodded. "I have genetics to thank for that. Having a demon father can do a lot for the aging process."

This time, Lucy actually _did_ spit tea everywhere. I felt my own mouth fall open as I stared at him. "You're a half-demon?!"

"I am. Is that so surprising?"

"Well, I don't know," I admitted. "I haven't really met any half-breeds."

"You're son is a half-breed," he pointed out.

"I meant _other_ half-breeds," I grinned. "Not many have joined guilds, and it's even more surprising since you were part of the Special Forces Unit. Did you have to hide it?"

"Until the new council took over," he sighed. "After that, I could be more open about it. I think my demon blood is actually why Makarov recruited me."

"Why _did_ Makarov recruit you?" Lucy asked.

"I'm sure he had his reasons," Darrick shrugged. Lucy and I exchanged a look, knowing he wasn't telling us everything. "Speaking of which," he said, standing, "I need to be heading on an assignment. See you later." With a smile and a wave, he left.

"He's hiding something," I frowned.

"But he's gorgeous," Lucy added.

"And you're married," I giggled.

"So?" She smirked. "I can still appreciate a good-looking man when I see one."

"Lu-chan," I giggled, shaking my head.

"Levy, I'm glad to see you've returned from the hospital," Erza smiled. Her six-year-old daughter, Ruby, was following close behind her.

"Thanks," I smiled before looking down at Ruby. "Hello, Ruby. It's nice to see you again." I had only briefly met her the day I first came back to Fairy Tail, and she was incredibly shy.

Her long purple hair was pulled up in pigtails, and she tugged on the bottom of her white dress. "H-Hello."

"We were about to go on an assignment with Jellal," Erza informed us.

"You're taking her on an assignment?" I asked, shocked.

"Ruby's swordsmanship is nearly as good as mine was at her age," Erza boasted.

"Even so," I said, unable to imagine taking Silas out on an assignment. Even if Gajeel and I were both there, I would be too worried about Silas to get any real work done.

"B-Bye!" Ruby told us, running after her mother.

"Do you take your girls out on assignments?" I asked Lucy.

"No way," she sighed. "You know Erza, though."

I giggled. "It's funny, you know? I've been gone for six years, but nothing really has changed. We've all gotten older, and have families now, but we're still the same."

"Everyone except Gajeel," Lucy smirked. "He's turned into a big softie."

"Oi! I have not!" We both turned, laughing when we saw Gajeel.

"You're done already?" I asked.

"For now," he grunted, plopping onto the bench beside me. "I have to go back tomorrow morning, first thing."

"Did Natsu come back with you?" Lucy asked.

Gajeel nodded. "He was talking to Erza."

"Oh, right," she nodded.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Is there something I'm missing?" I asked.

"No," she shrugged, glancing at Gajeel before returning her gaze to where her girls were all playing with Silas.

I frowned at Gajeel, and he shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he mumbled, patting me on the top of the head.

"I—"

"Gajeel," Lily said, flying into the cafeteria, "I need to speak with you a moment." Gajeel nodded, then followed him outside.

"I hope everything is alright," I sighed. Lily had acted like it was something urgent, and I hoped it wasn't something back at the council.

"I'm sure it is," Lucy smiled.

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Is everything taken care of?" I asked the group of people standing outside of Fairy Tail. Erza, Darrick, Natsu, and Lily all nodded. "Good. I'll distract Shrimp for a few hours while you get everything ready here," I told them. They all went off to complete their tasks, and I returned to Fairy Tail.

"Everything alright?" Levy asked.

"Fine," I nodded. "Let's go get some lunch. Just the three of us."

"Alright," she smiled, going to find Silas.

"Is the plan a go?" Lucy whispered once she left.

I nodded, picking up Silas when Levy came back with him.

"See you three later!" Lucy grinned, waving.

"Are you sure everything is alright?" Levy frowned as we made our way to the restaurant. "You're acting weird."

"I told ya, everything is fine. Stop worrying so much, Shrimp."

"I can't help it," she sighed. "After the chaos of the last few days, I _have_ to worry."

"Nothing has happened today, right? So just enjoy it."

"Yet," I heard her mumble.

"I want steak!" Silas proclaimed as soon as we sat down at a table inside the restaurant.

Levy giggled. "He inherited your appetite, too."

"He's a growing boy," I said, grinning. We ordered our food and listened to Silas's stories from staying with Lucy and the girls. It was strange how natural it felt sitting there with Levy and Silas, eating lunch. I had been with them for less than a month, but I already couldn't imagine my life without the two of them.

"—head back."

"What?" I looked at Levy, who sighed and shook her head.

"You were off in your own world," she chuckled. "I asked if you were ready to go back to Fairy Tail."

_We've been gone for a couple of hours, so they should be finished by now._ "Sure. I bet Layla has been waiting for Silas to get back. Gihi." The boy's face turned scarlet, and he hid behind Levy.

"Don't tease him," Levy scolded, though she was smiling.

"Have you felt alright today?" I asked her, putting Silas on my shoulders as we walked back to Fairy Tail.

"I have," she nodded. I saw her glance down at the red mark on her wrist before she sighed.

"Don't worry, Shrimp. We'll figure all of this out."

"I know." She didn't look convinced as she said it, though.

"Daddy," Silas whispered, leaning down so only I would hear him.

"What?" I whispered back.

"You should hold mommy's hand. Whenever I'm sad, she always holds my hand to make me feel better."

"Is that so?" I chuckled. "Alright, Shrimp, come on." I grabbed her hand, walking towards Fairy Tail a little faster. _I bet she'll cheer up once we get back._

"What's the rush?" She laughed.

"I haven't been able to just sit down and relax for a while," I shrugged.

"You're the head of the hunters' council, what do you expect?" Levy grinned, rolling her eyes.

"I'm actually thinking about leaving the council once all of this is settled," I said, trying to sound casual.

"What?" She looked up at me with wide eyes. "Gajeel, you can't do that."

"Why not?" I frowned. I assumed she would have been happy about me leaving the council. "If I do, I'll be able to be home more with you and Silas."

"And I would love that," she nodded, "but the council needs you, Gajeel. You have done such great things with Natsu and Lily, so you can't leave now. Not because of us."

"You're my family, Shrimp, so it's not a hard decision."

"I know," she sighed, "but the council needs you."

"You and Silas need me," I countered, stopping outside the doors of Fairy Tail.

"The council needs you more," she smiled. "And you still get to come home to us every night, right?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Just think about it," she said. "I'll support you no matter what, even if you do choose to leave the council."

"Thanks, Shrimp," I grinned, putting Silas down. "Want to open them up, kiddo?" I asked, winking at him.

"Yes!" He cheered, throwing the doors open and running inside.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted, throwing confetti and streamers into the air as we followed Silas inside. The entire room had been decorated with balloons and ribbons and banners.

"What's going on?" Levy laughed, putting a hand over her heart. I could hear it pounding furiously in her chest from where I was standing, casing me to chuckle.

"We're throwing you a birthday party!" Lucy grinned.

"But, my birthday was a few months ago," she frowned, looking at me with an accusing frown.

"We haven't been able to celebrate with you for six years," Lucy pouted, "so we wanted to do something special for you."

"Consider it a welcome back party if you want," I said.

"You guys are the best," Levy smiled, hugging Lucy tightly. "Thank you."

"Hey, hug your hubby over there," she chuckled, "it was all his idea."

"My—My—Lu-chan, he isn't—"

She bit her lip when I laughed and ruffled her hair. "Gajeel," she complained, adjusting the white headband in her hair.

"Come on, Shrimp. How about some cake?"

"You are _not_ singing happy birthday to me," she grinned, grabbing my hand as Silas led the way to the cake.

"Gihi."

The party went smoothly, and I was happy to see Levy enjoying herself. I noticed a blue pendant around her neck, and I found myself smiling. _Even after six years, she still wears it._

*****FLASHBACK*****

"Going to the organization?" Lily asked as I opened the door.

"Yeah," I nodded, giving him a small grin. "I'm runnin' late today, though. Shrimp's probably waitin' on me."

He chuckled, waving as I left, heading for Fairy Tail. The air was cool, and probably would have bothered me if I wasn't a Dragon Slayer. The cold had never really bothered me like it did normal humans, so I usually never wore a jacket. I picked up my pace, however, when a light drizzle began falling, clutching the package in my hand a little closer to me in order to shield it from the rain.

"Good morning, Gajeel," Makarov nodded in greeting as I rushed inside.

"Morning," I said.

"It's a special day, eh?" He asked, looking at the package in my hands.

I smiled. "Yeah. I bought this for the Shrimp."

"Well," he grinned, "you know where to find her."

I went through the building, nodding every once in a while when someone greeted me. "Morning, Shrimp," I said, opening the door to the infirmary. "I brought you somethin' special today."

I took a seat in my usual chair, and opened the package. Inside was a small blue pendant attached to a silver chain. Gently, I fastened it around her neck, smiling after I had adjusted it. "It isn't much," I told her, holding her hand, "but I wanted to get you something. I saw that and noticed it was the same color as your hair, and I thought you might like it. When you wake up, I'll take you out to dinner, too."

I sat with her for a while, saying nothing as I watched her sleep. Like any other day, the oxygen mask was over her mouth and nose, and she didn't respond to me when I spoke to her. It didn't really matter, though, because I was convinced she could still hear me. _Levy's still in there, so I'll keep talking to her until anyone can prove me wrong._

"Gajeel, Mirajane has your breakfast ready," Lucy called from the doorway, interrupting the quiet.

"I'm coming," I sighed, standing.

Before leaving, I bent down and softly pressed my lips to Levy's cheek. "Happy birthday, Shrimp."

*****END OF FLASHBACK*****

"Gajeel?" Shrimp's voice brought me back to the present.

"What?" I asked.

She sat beside me, wrapping her small arms around my torso as I draped one of mine over her shoulders. "Thank you for today. It meant a lot."

"Don't worry about," I smiled. "I'm glad you had a good time."

"We're going to have one for Silas next week," Mirajane whispered to Levy, suddenly appearing with a tray of drinks.

"Actually, Silas's birthday is only a couple of months away," Levy told her. "He'll be turning six."

"Well, Fairy Tail is going to throw him a party he'll never forget," Mira smiled.

"And we'll never miss another birthday—for either of you," I promised.

"Speaking of Silas," Levy yawned, "it's way passed his bedtime. We should be getting home."

"I'll go get him," I said, going to find my son. As expected, he was with Salamander's girls and Aiden. "Come on, kiddo. Time to go home."

"Right now?" He asked, sighing.

"We'll be back bright and early," I chuckled.

"Bye girls. Bye Aiden," Silas waved, grabbing my hand and walking back to Levy.

We thanked our friends, then set off towards home. I carried Silas—who had already fallen asleep—and held onto Levy's hand.

"Gajeel," Levy began, frowning as if she were deep in thought, "did you see Lily at the party tonight?"

I frowned, shaking my head. "Now that you mention it, I didn't." The last time I saw him, I had instructed him to help out at Fairy Tail for the party.

"I didn't see Darrick, either," she said. "I wonder where they are?"

"Darrick's a grown man, he can take care of himself," I told her. "And Lily's probably out buying some kiwi or something. He'll be back by morning."

"You're probably right," she nodded. "I'm worrying too much."

"Some rest will do you some good," I chuckled. However, the fact that both Lily _and_ Darrick had been missing from the party kept nagging at me. _I have a bad feeling about this._ No matter how hard I tried to shake it off, it persisted, staying with me even as I laid next to Levy that night to go to sleep. _I can't help but feel like there is something wrong. I don't know what, but I feel like something bad happened._

Unfortunately, I was right.


	10. 9: Trust

**_~Levy~_**

"Gajeel!" I rubbed my eyes, groaning a little at the sound of loud pounding. "Gajeel!" _Who is that?_ I opened my eyes and sat up when I finally woke up enough to recognize the voice. _Lily?_ Gajeel came-to around the same time, and he shuffled over to the door, cursing under his breath.

"What?" He snapped, throwing the door open.

"Lily!" I gasped, watching as the Exceed fell forward, collapsing onto the ground as soon as the door was open. He was covered in cuts, and had a large wound in his side.

"What happened?" Gajeel asked as I picked Lily up and gently cradled him in my arms.

"Dar…rick…" he managed before passing out.

"Darrick did this?" I asked, shocked.

"I knew that bastard was untrustworthy," Gajeel growled. He took Lily, then headed for the door. "Shrimp, get Silas and go straight to Fairy Tail. I'm taking Lily ahead so Wendy can patch him up."

"Right," I nodded, throwing on a pair of black jeans and a beige tank top before running to Silas's room. I gently woke him up, got him dressed, then helped him put on his shoes.

"One more thing," I mumbled, returning to my room. I dug a small box out of the closet and opened it, staring down at my old gun. _It certainly has been a while,_ I thought as I strapped it to my right thigh. Returning to the living room, I grabbed Silas's hand and walked quickly to Fairy Tail.

The organization was in an uproar when we arrived, wondering what had happened to Lily—and why Darrick had attacked him. Gajeel was coming out of the infirmary when we arrived, so I immediately rushed over to him as Silas went off to play with the other children.

"Is he alright?" I asked, fearing the worst.

"He's fine," Gajeel sighed, running a hand through his un-brushed hair.

"Here, I brought you some clothes," I chuckled, handing him the small bag. He had left in a rush, so still only wore his pajama pants.

"Thanks," he nodded. "Once I'm dressed, I'm taking a team out to find Darrick. Then we'll—" He was cut off when the front doors opened and Darrick walked in. Well, more like _limped_ in. He was in just as bad of shape as Lily, and I noticed he had to lean against the doorway for support.

"That…won't be necessary," he said, breathing heavily.

With a growl, Gajeel marched over to him, punching him in the face hard enough to send him back through the doorway. I ran after Gajeel when he went outside, knowing it wouldn't end well if I left him alone.

"What the hell did you do to Lily?" Gajeel snarled, picking Darrick roughly off the ground by the front of his shirt.

"Nothing," Darrick wheezed.

"He said—"

"I was helping him. We…we were attacked by Shadow Dwellers on our way back to the party last night."

"I don't believe you," Gajeel frowned.

Darrick chuckled, stopping short when he began coughing. "So skeptical," he finally managed.

"We need to take him to the infirmary," I said.

Gajeel turned to me, shocked. "Shrimp, he attacked Lily!"

"I'm not so sure," I told him, shaking my head. "Lily said Darrick's name, but that doesn't mean he was the one who attacked him. And Darrick's just as beat up as Lily. Do you really think he would have come back here in that condition if he really had done it?"

"Maybe he came back to finish the job," Gajeel growled, turning back to Darrick.

"Darrick isn't that foolish," I sighed. "He would know he wouldn't be able to get close to Lily, so why wouldn't he wait until he was healed?"

"If we take him to the infirmary, we'll be taking him straight to Lily," he argued.

"And if we don't, he'll die," I snapped.

"I'm not so sure that's a bad thing," he said, darkly.

"Gajeel—"

"Levy is right." Master Makarov said, suddenly.

"Master?" He was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed as he watched us. "Take him to the infirmary. Darrick isn't our enemy."

Gajeel glared at the old man before doing as he said, not being too gentle with Darrick as he went. "I'm staying in there and guarding him," he said as he passed Master.

"That boy," Master sighed.

"You believe Darrick?" I asked.

He nodded. "I recruited Darrick myself, so I know he isn't a threat to us."

"Why _did_ you recruit him?"

"When he's ready to tell you, he well," Master said, offering nothing more.

"What does that mean?" I frowned.

"It means, the reason I recruited him is up to him to tell everyone. It isn't my place. I know why he's here, and so does he. That will remain between us until he is comfortable enough to tell the rest of you. For now, it's probably best that he keeps it to himself, though," he sighed.

My frowned deepened in confusion. "I don't understand."

He chuckled. "Try not to dwell on it too much. Just know that I trust Darrick, and his reasons for joining Fairy Tail are good ones."

I nodded, excusing myself before going to the infirmary. Wendy was just finishing up with Darrick when I arrived. Cleaned up, he didn't look quite as bad. His injuries weren't very deep, and the only serious-looking one was a gash on his left arm that Wendy had put a gauze and wrap on. Lily's injuries—thankfully—were the same. The only one that was alarming was the cut on his side. The rest were mere scratches and would heal quickly.

"How are they?" I asked.

Wendy smiled, wiping sweat from her forehead. "They'll be fine. Darrick passed out after Gajeel brought him in, but with some rest he'll recover. The same goes for Lily. They just need some sleep."

"That's good news," I smiled. "Thanks, Wendy."

"No problem," she said, leaving Gajeel and I alone with Lily and Darrick. He still looked angry as he sat between Lily and Darrick's beds with his arms crossed.

I took a seat on the edge of Lily's bed, looking at him. "Master trusts Darrick, so you shouldn't worry," I said.

"He's hiding something."

"I know," I nodded. "Master said that whatever he's hiding, he'll tell us when he's ready. Master already knows what it is, and told me it wasn't anything to worry about."

"The old man has been wrong before," Gajeel said.

"Why are you so determined to hate Darrick?' I asked, quietly.

He looked at me, his red eyes searing into mine. "I'm not. I just don't trust him. Honestly, I don't know why _you're_ so determined _not_ to hate him. You've been defending him since he got here, and you don't even know the guy."

"Maybe I don't know him, but I have a feeling that he isn't the one at fault here. I believe in Master's judgment."

"Until I know what he's hiding, I can't take that chance," Gajeel said. I sighed, knowing I'd never be able to convince him.

"I'm going back to the main hall," I said. "Let me know when they wake up."

**_~Gajeel~_**

I cursed quietly to myself after Levy had left the infirmary. _Sorry, Shrimp, but I'm not taking any chances here. I won't let you get hurt again._ I had her and Silas to protect now, so I wasn't going to trust Darrick until he proved he was trustworthy.

And he wouldn't be trustworthy until I knew what he was hiding.

"Gajeel?"

I grinned at Lily when he opened his eyes. "Hey, cat. Glad to see you're awake."

"How long was I unconscious?" He asked, sitting up.

"About an hour," I said. "You were pretty banged up, but Wendy healed most of your injuries."

"I'll have to thank her," he nodded.

"Tell me what happened." _Might as well get straight to the point._

"I was heading back to Fairy Tail last night for the party when one of my men arrived in town. He said he had urgent news, so I followed him; Darrick was with me, so he went along as well. Seeking some privacy, we went to the old building just outside of Magnolia that we usually use to exchange sensitive information," Lily explained. I knew immediately which building he meant. _Marley's old bar._

After Astaroth was defeated, I bought the bar and intended to burn the damned thing to the ground. Lily had suggested using it instead as a place to exchange information, since everyone thought it was no longer in use. That's where we did most of the research that later led to the over-throwing of the old council. We still used it to talk to informants from Era and our own men who worked cases that required privacy.

"So, what happened?"

"Well, we found out who the spy inside the council is," Lily said, dryly. "Apparently, that guard had been working with the group of Astaroth's followers who are trying to kill you. I'd say he killed the man who shot you and has been passing information over to their group."

"How do you know?" I frowned.

"He led us into an ambush," he sighed. "About thirty demons were waiting for us when we got there. We managed to kill them all, but just barely. If Darrick hadn't been there, I probably wouldn't have survived."

"What about the spy?"

"Dead, unfortunately. He attacked me, so I had no choice."

"I'm going to head back to Era," I said. "I want to question that woman again. Maybe I can get her to tell me more." She had told us a little the day before, but had refused to give up any valuable information. All she told us was that I was being targeted by that group, and that there were over two hundred of the followers so far. For some reason, it seemed as though at least half of them were half demons. _Maybe she'll tell me why._

"I'll go—"

"You aren't going anywhere. You're going to stay in bed until Wendy says otherwise," I instructed. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Be careful," Lily told me. I nodded, then went to find Levy.

"Is Lily awake?" She asked as soon as I sat next to her at the bar.

"Yeah."

"Great," she smiled. "I'm going to go see him."

"Shrimp," I said, catching her arm as she headed towards the infirmary.

"Yes?" She asked, turning.

"I have to go to the council for a while. I'll try to make it back by dinner."

"You'll be gone that long?" She frowned. It was barely nine in the morning, so I understood why she was disappointed.

"Hopefully not," I sighed. "I'm going to interrogate that woman again, see if I can get anymore answers out of her."

"Be safe," she said before kissing me. "We'll be here when you get back."

"I'll hurry," I promised. I found Silas, told him goodbye, and then left for the train station. The ride was unbearably long, and I couldn't stop thinking about Darrick and what his damned secret was. _What's so bad that he would need to hide it from everyone in the organization? _It was even stranger that Master allowed him to keep it a secret. He usually encouraged us to be open with each other, but Darrick seemed to be the exception. _Makarov knows what it is, and says it isn't bad, yet Darrick still wants to hide it from everyone in Fairy Tail. What the hell is it?_

The train stopped before I could dwell on it too much, and I graciously got off. I sat heavily on a bench as I caught my breath and waited for my head and stomach to stop spinning before going to Era to the council building. I stayed alert as I walked, wanting to be ready if any of those cult idiots attacked in broad daylight.

"Councilman Redfox," the guards at the front entrance said, bowing. "Welcome back."

"How many times do I have to tell ya," I sighed, "call me Gajeel."

"Sir, shall I call the other council members to the meeting room?" The taller of the two, a brunette woman, asked.

"No. I came to see the half-breed we brought in yesterday."

"Right away," she nodded, leading me inside as the other guard remained at his post.

"Have Lily's men reported back yet?" I asked.

"No, sir," she answered. "They just left a few hours ago, and they won't be returning until this evening."

"Come get me as soon as they get here," I told her. "Lily won't be coming in today, so they are to report directly to me, got it?"

"Yes, sir." We arrived at the woman's holding cell, and I dismissed the guard.

"Hey," I said, looking at the woman through the bars. Her brown hair was pulled back into a tight braid, and she was wearing simple black pants and a black shirt. Her gray eyes stared at me as she remained silent.

Sighing, I pulled a chair up to the bars and sat down, making a point to meet her gaze. "I came to talk."

"I don't want to talk to you, Dragon Slayer scum," she spat.

"A few of your friends attacked one of my comrades last night," I explained, ignoring her insult. "Why?"

"He was a nuisance," she smirked. "And we knew his death would hurt you."

"Better luck next time," I snorted. "Lily's just fine. Can't say the same about the demons who went after him, though."

Her gray eyes widened in shock. Obviously, she had been expecting a different outcome. "Impossible."

"I'm sure he'll be here tomorrow to have a chat with you, so you can see for yourself then. Now, I want to know what the hell you guys are planning. If you're trying to kill me, why go after Lily?"

"The poison doesn't seem to work on you, since you filthy humans created an antidote," she frowned.

"You're half human," I reminded her.

"My wretch of a human mother abandoned me when I was a child, too ashamed to raise the offspring of a demon. Master Astaroth took me in and gave me to a demon family who followed him, and they raised me. You humans hunt us, but you don't see who the truly evil ones are. Look what you did to half-breeds for centuries. How many innocent lives were taken?"

"Not as many as demon have taken," I frowned. "That council is gone, anyways, and humans have become more accepting of half-breeds and demons alike."

"That doesn't change their past sins. Nor does changing the council erase yours. You are still responsible for Master Astaroth's death, so you must be punished."

"Try all you want, but I ain't goin' down so easily," I growled.

"Perhaps not now," she smirked. "Let's see how cocky you are when everything you love has been taken from you, _Councilman Redfox._"

"Don't threaten me," I snarled, standing up and gripping the bars tightly.

She laughed. "It wasn't _you_ I was threatening. That is a beautiful little boy you have, councilman. It would be a shame is anything happened to him."

"I won't let you touch him."

A wicked smirk parted her lips. "Then why did you leave him so unprotected?"

Icy fear crept its way up my spine. "What are you—"

"I am locked in a cage," she sighed, "I can't do anything. My brothers and sisters on the outside are very free to move about as they wish, however."

Without a word, I marched to my office on the floor above the cells' chamber. I slammed the door behind me and grabbed the telephone, dialing the number to Makarov's office at Fairy Tail.

"Yes, hello?" He asked, picking up after only two rings.

"Where's Shrimp?" I asked, skipping over the introductions. He would know who it was.

"She's sitting in the infirmary with Lily and Darrick."

"And Silas?"

"Playing with Layla and Aiden," he answered. "Gajeel, what's going on?"

"I think there might be more of Astaroth's followers after Silas and Shrimp, so make sure they stay at Fairy Tail until I get back."

"Alright. I'll send a scouting party out, too."

"Thanks, gramps," I sighed, feeling a little less tense.

"I'm just protecting my own, so no need for thanks," he chuckled. "Hurry back, now. Head of the council or not, you still have a responsibility to those two."

"Right." I hung up the phone and returned to the cells, sitting in the unmoved chair.

"Who is leading your group?" I asked.

"Back so soon?"

"Answer me."

"I believe you already know, councilman."

"Org?"

She grinned. "Close."

"Michello?"

Her grin grew. "He isn't the Michello you remember, though, I'm afraid," she chuckled.

"What the hell does that mean?"

She shrugged. "Whatever you want it to, I suppose."

"Where is he?" I asked, refusing to play her damned games.

To that, she laughed. "Councilman, I'm not going to just _tell_ you where Master Michello is. He'd kill me."

"_I'll_ kill you if you don't tell me where he is," I growled.

She smiled, coming to stand directly in front of me on the other side of the bars. "You won't kill me. You're too soft."

"Try me."

"I _can_ tell you," she continued, going back to her seat on top of the small cot she had been sleeping on, "that he is seeking revenge, and that he won't stop until he succeeds."

"If he wants revenge for me kicking him out of the council, why did he join a group of Astaroth's followers? He hates demons."

"He—"

"Councilman Redfox," the young secretary for my office, Opal, said, rushing into the room. She bowed, her face flushed from running. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, sir, but there is an urgent call for you from Fairy Tail."-

"We'll finish this later," I told the woman in the cell, following Opal to my office.

I rushed inside and picked up the phone, almost afraid to answer it. "What?" I asked.

"Gajeel," Master Makarov said, sounding grim, "you need to return to Magnolia."

"What happened?" I asked, feeling my heart fall into my stomach and a large lump form in my throat as I waited for his answer. When he finally did, I found myself running without even bothering to hang up the phone.

"It…it's Silas."


	11. 10: Taken

The ride to Magnolia and the sprint to Fairy Tail was all a blur. I burst through the doors, searching immediately for Levy and Silas. "Where's Silas?" I asked as Master approached me.

He looked down and sighed heavily, not giving me an answer.

"Makarov," I ground out, fear making it almost difficult to get the words out, "where the hell is my son?"

"He's gone," Master said, finally meeting my eyes.

"What do you mean _gone_?" I looked around the room for him, but couldn't find him—or Shrimp, for that matter. Neither were there. "Where is he?"

"A Shadow Dweller took him." It was Darrick who answered. He stood against the open doorway, and I noticed a few new injuries on his face and arms.

My knees felt weak. "What?"

"He went outside with Layla and Aiden, and was taken before Levy could follow them out the doors. They must have been waiting for one of the two to leave, because they disappeared with him in an instant."

"Levy went after them," Master said. "The only reason we know what happened is because Layla and Aiden ran back into the guildhall after Levy had already left."

"Damn it!" I shouted, pushing Darrick out of the way as I went outside. I could faintly smell Levy, so I intended to follow her scent and—hopefully—catch up to her. _And those Shadow Dwellers._ When I did, I would rip the bastards apart for even _daring_ to touch Silas.

Just as I reached the edge of a forest that Shrimp's scent led me to, I heard people approaching. They were speaking quietly, and I automatically recognized their voices. "Salamander?" Lucy came into view first, followed by Gray. Last came Natsu, and I instantly forgot about the other when I saw what was in his arms.

"Shrimp!" I rushed to her, taking her from Natsu and cradling her against my chest. "What happened to her?"

"We don't know," Lucy answered. "We followed after her as soon as Layla told us what happened, and she passed out just as we arrived."

I looked down at the sleeping bluenette. _What the hell is going on? Why would she just pass out?_ All of a sudden, her face contorted in a grimace, and then her eyes shot open. "Levy?" I asked, but she didn't hear me. Her scream drowned out any other sound.

**_~Levy~_**

"Race you outside!" Layla shouted, throwing the doors open as she ran outside with Aiden and Silas on her heels.

"Silas, wait!" I called, remembering what Master had told me about his phone call from Gajeel. There were potentially some of Astaroth's followers after Silas and me, so we needed to stay at Fairy Tail until he came home. A few years ago I might have argued that I could take care of myself, but I had been away for six years—and hadn't even held a gun in that time period—so I wasn't about to risk my son's life. I would just wait for Gajeel.

Unfortunately, Silas, being the carefree child that he was, didn't understand that we were in danger. So, he ran outside after Layla without a second thought. I exited Fairy Tail just in time to see a Shadow Dweller snatch Silas and take off with him.

"Silas!" I screamed, running as fast as I could in the direction the Shadow Dweller had gone. Panic and guilt consumed me as the gap between us grew with every passing second. _I should have been watching him more closely. I should be able to run faster. I should be stronger than this._ Those thoughts kept replaying in my mind as I tried desperately to catch up to them.

Soon, trees began blocking my view of them, and I realized we had entered the forest. _If I don't catch up to them quickly, the trees will obscure my view._ And if that happened—I shook the thought from my mind. They _weren't_ going to get away with Silas. I wasn't going to let them.

"Mommy!" Silas's fearful plea sent daggers of maternal anger straight through my heart, and I picked up the pace even more. _Silas, I'm coming._

"We only need one," a second Shadow Dweller growled, appearing from above and jumping on top of me. Immediately, my hand shot to my gun and I shot it, glad that those instincts had stayed with me over the years. _If only the other one could be shot so easily._ I wouldn't dare point my gun at it while it was holding Silas. No matter how skilled I used to be, I wouldn't risk accidentally shooting him.

I winced when my mark throbbed painfully, and I looked down at my wrist. _Why now of all times? I have more important things to worry about!_

"What's the rush?" A voice chuckled before someone grabbed my arm in an iron grip that brought me to an abrupt halt.

I looked up in search of the source of the voice, and found myself staring into a pair of the bluest eyes I had ever seen. My gasp was loud in the silence, and my throat constricted involuntarily.

"Not even a hello, Sunshine?" Marley smirked, releasing my arm.

"Get out of my way, Marley," I snapped, shaking myself out of whatever stupor I had been in.

"You'll never catch up to that Shadow Dweller," he said, sounding bored. "Especially not now that you're just standing here, letting the distance between you and your precious son grow even more with every breath."

"That's why I can't waste my time here with you!" I shouted, pulling out my gun and firing three shots at him.

He chuckled, not even flinching at the bullets hit his chest and fell to the ground, not even leaving a scratch. "You really should get better bullets."

I ignored him, running past him and after Silas. He sighed, grabbing my wrist as I went by and twisting it painfully as he threw me to the ground. "When will you learn? I'm stronger than you are, and I'm still mad at you for trying to kill me all those years ago."

He crouched down, smiling wickedly at me. "And this time, Darrick isn't here to snap you out of it, so it's just you and me. _Sunshine_." Before I could respond, he stood and kicked me in the stomach. My back met the trunk of a tree, and all the air left my lungs in a painful gasp.

"This…isn't real?" I gasped, trying to catch my breath. _He said Darrick wasn't here to snap me out of it, so does that mean this is all in my head?_

"Does it feel real?" Marley asked, bringing a booted foot down on my wrist and applying pressure until I felt the bone snap. I screamed, fighting back tears.

"I love that sound," he sighed, his eyes closed as a small smile played across his face. "Your screams are wonderful. So much better than your parents'."

"Fuck you!" I wheezed.

He laughed, lifting his foot a few inches before slamming it back down on my broken wrist. I screamed again, this time unable to fight the tears as they escaped my eyes. "Marvelous," he smiled, clearly amused.

"This is all in my head," I whispered to myself, trying desperately to focus on anything but the pain. "This isn't actually happening. I have to snap out of it and save Silas. He's counting on me to save him!"

"You can't even save yourself," Marley scoffed, "how do you expect to save anyone else?"

"I have to," I said.

"You have to?" He chuckled, "how pathetically sweet of you. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not done having fun with you yet."

"If this is all in my head, then I'll just force you out," I murmured, trying to focus on when exactly Astaroth had taken over. _I was chasing after Silas when my mark hurt, then I—_ I gasped. "My mark!" I didn't know how, but somehow that pain in my mark had signaled when Astaroth took over my mind. _It's the same as before in the hospital. Darrick said something was possessing me, so that must be the case now, too._

Another Shadow Dweller must have attacked me without me realizing it, and had possessed me. _That's right, because Astaroth is dead. I blew the bastard up six years ago._

"Get out of my head!" I shouted, focusing on my need to save Silas. I got a feeling of déjà vu, remembering my first real job with Gajeel and Lily when we fought the nightmare demon.

"I'm not some created image from some lowly Shadow Dweller," Marley scoffed. "You know deep down that I am very much alive."

"Shut up!" I squeezed my eyes shut as I continued focusing on Silas.

"Shrimp!" I gasped and opened my eyes at the sound of Gajeel's voice. "Gajeel?"

"Damn it," Marley growled.

"Gajeel!" I shouted it this time, hoping he would hear me. He came through the trees at full speed, stopping only when he saw Marley standing over me, his boot on my crushed wrist. I was so happy to see him that tears ran down my cheeks. "Gajeel."

Without saying a word, he raised a gun and aimed. A frown erased my smile when I saw it was aimed at me, however. "Gaj—" Before I could finish, he pulled the trigger, shooting me between the eyes.

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Why the hell is she still screaming?!" I growled, watching as Porlyusica and Wendy examined Levy.

"Be quiet," the old woman snapped. "We can't focus with you over there making a bunch of ruckus."

Lily put his paw on my leg. "Maybe you should wait outside—"

"No," I said, dismissing Lily's suggestion. "I'm staying here with Shrimp. You should go join the others." Master had arranged a search party to go after Silas while I stayed with Levy at Fairy Tail. Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Juvia, and Darrick had all gone. I may have not trusted Darrick, but I was thankful that he was going to help—even while he was injured.

"She'll be alright," Lily reassured me. "And so will Silas. The others will find him."

"Yeah."

"Wait a minute," Lily frowned, looking towards Levy. She had finally stopped screaming, and was laying sickeningly still on the bed.

"What?"

"What if she's being possessed again?" He asked, turning his gaze to me. "If she did this before, and the purification bullets Darrick had worked, it wouldn't hurt to try, right?"

I nodded, figuring it was our only lead so far. I ran to the supply room and grabbed a gun that had already been loaded with purification bullets before returning to the infirmary. "Try this," I said, holding the gun out.

"You want me to _shoot_ her?" Porlyusica snapped, obviously repulsed by the idea. "I may not like humans, but I'm not turning a gun on a defenseless girl—"

"Lady Porlyusica," Wendy said, "it's a purification spell. It will get rid of any demons that may be possessing Levy."

"Then you do it," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"I'll do it," I said, not wanting to waste any more time arguing over it. I pointed the gun at Levy's sleeping face, closed my eyes, and pulled the trigger. She inhaled the blue mist that burst from the thin shell of the bullet and coughed a little.

"Did it work?" I found myself asking after several seconds of nothing.

"We'll find out soon, I suppose," Porlyusica sighed. No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a shout from Levy had all of our eyes returning to her. She sat upright in the bed, breathing heavily as her eyes darted about the room in frantic confusion.

"Shrimp," I breathed, wrapping my arms around her, "thank god. You worried the hell outta me."

"Where's Silas?" She asked.

"He…we're going to get him back," I answered.

A sob escaped her lips as she buried her face in my shirt. "I'm so sorry," she cried, her entire body shaking. "He was right there, but I—I couldn't get to him. It's all my fault. I should have been paying more attention."

"It's not your fault," I told her. "It's that damned cult's fault, alright? Don't blame yourself, Shrimp. We'll get him back. He's going to be just fine."

"He cried out to me," she whispered, just loud enough for only me to hear. "Gajeel, he cried out to me and I let them get away."

I wasn't sure how to soothe her. I knew that no matter how many times I told her it wasn't her fault, she would blame herself until we got Silas back safe and sound. _And we _will_ get him back._

**_~Levy~_**

The rest of the day went by in a painful haze. Once I finally stopped crying, my emotions seemed to cave in on themselves and I just couldn't feel, well, _anything._ I heard Porlyusica say something about me going into shock, but I didn't care enough to listen. Silas's voice kept ringing in my head, a painful reminder that I had failed him. I hadn't been able to protect him.

"Can you eat?" Wendy asked.

I stared down at the bowl of soup she was holding out to me, knowing I should probably eat, but not sure if I had the energy to even hold the bowl. "No," I finally managed, closing my eyes. Since I had been put on bed rest for the next twenty-four hours, I couldn't even help the search party. I had tried my hardest to leave the infirmary despite Porlyusica's orders, but Gajeel had made me promise to stay put.

_"I can't worry about you and focus on finding Silas, Shrimp. Stay here, and I'll bring him back. I promise,"_ he had said, finally convincing me to stay in bed.

Wendy sighed, putting the bowl of soup on the stand beside my bed. "If you get hungry, it's right here, okay?"

"Yeah."

She left me alone, sighing again as she went. The infirmary was only quiet for a few minutes before Lucy burst through the doors and ran to my bed, pulling me into a hug. "Are you alright?" She asked. "How are you feeling?"

"Did you find Silas?" I asked, focusing on the more important matter.

Her eyes fell to the floor and she pulled away. "No," she said, slowly shaking her head. "We lost their trail just outside of Magnolia. Silas's scent vanished, too. We searched everywhere, but couldn't ever find any more clues."

Tears stung my eyes again, but I fought them. "Where's Gajeel?"

"On his way. He stayed behind to look for Darrick before coming back."

"Darrick?" I frowned.

"Yeah," she nodded. "About an hour ago, Darrick disappeared. We were all busy looking for Silas, so we didn't bother to look for him. Gajeel and Natsu stayed behind, though, when the rest of us decided to come home for the night and make a new plan for tomorrow."

"Lu-chan, we have to keep looking," I urged. "Tomorrow will be too late. We have to find him now, before they can—" I couldn't say it. _Before they can hurt Silas._

"We won't be any help to Silas if we're all exhausted," Lucy said. "We need to rest and start fresh first thing in the morning. Gajeel agreed, and Master is going to call up some of his contacts to keep an eye out for him. We'll find him, Levy."

"We have to," I told her. _Silas, please be alright._


	12. 11: Who Are You?

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Gajeel, we should head back," Natsu said, putting a hand on my shoulder. The others had returned to Fairy Tail nearly three hours ago while Natsu and I had stayed to look for Darrick and keep searching for Silas. Still, we had found nothing.

"Yeah," I sighed, slowly following him. My legs felt heavy, and I was on edge from exhaustion and worry. I didn't want to go back to Fairy Tail and face Levy. I didn't want to tell her I hadn't been able to find our son.

"We'll find him tomorrow," Natsu told me, reading my mind. "If they took him to use against you, they probably didn't go too far. Once they make their move, we'll get him."

I nodded, hoping he was right. _I just hope he's alright until I can get to him._ The thought of those bastards hurting him nearly had me turning around and continuing my search. But, I knew the others were right. We needed to rest and come up with a new plan. Who knew how many people I'd have to fight to get him back, so being at full strength was my best chance of saving Silas.

"Gajeel," Levy said as soon as I entered the infirmary, "did you find them?"

I shook my head, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry, Shrimp."

"No, you did your best," she told me, trying to sound reassuring even as tears filled her eyes. "We will keep searching as soon as the sun rises tomorrow. Besides, they won't hurt him. If they're baiting you, they won't hurt him."

I climbed onto the bed beside her, pulling her against me. "We'll find him. I won't stop until he's home."

"Y-Yeah," she whispered, clinging onto my shirt. Considering how I felt, I couldn't imagine how upset Levy must have actually been. I had only been with him for a short time, while Silas had been the center of Shrimp's world for six years.

After an eternity, I was finally able to fall asleep. Even in sleep I was restless. Nightmares of Shadow Dwellers and all sorts of unthinkable things being done to Silas plagued me. When I opened my eyes in the morning, I was just as tired as I had been the night before, and even more worried.

Levy was no longer in the bed with me, and I assumed she had gone to get some breakfast before we went out to continue searching for Silas. I went into the main hall, looking for her as I yawned.

"Gajeel, there you are," Lucy said, handing me a large bowl of iron bolts. "Is Levy with you?"

I frowned. "Isn't she here?"

The blonde shook her head. "Master told us to stay out of the infirmary until you two woke up, so I just assumed she was still asleep. I got here early this morning, and I haven't seen her come out of the infirmary."

"That's weird," I murmured. "Go check the rest of the building. I'll go home and see if she went there."

"Lily just came from your house," she said, "and he didn't mention seeing her there. And, Mirajane didn't mention seeing her anywhere when she did her cleaning this morning. If Levy had been around, someone would have said something, right?"

"Damn," I sighed. "Where the hell could she be, then?"

"I have an idea, but I hope Levy isn't that reckless." As soon as she said it, I knew that's where Levy had gone.

"Damn," I growled, running out the doors. She had gone after Silas. Alone.

"Shrimp!" I called, finally reaching the area where Natsu and Lucy had found her the day before. I looked everywhere but couldn't find any signs she had been there. "Damn it, Shrimp, where did you go?" I sighed to myself.

"Gajeel!" Lily flew through the trees, landing on the ground beside me. "Did you find her?"

"Does it look like it?!" I snapped, my nerves on edge. I sighed, knowing getting angry at Lily wouldn't help. "Sorry. No, I can't find any signs of her. Not even her scent."

"I flew overhead and couldn't see her anywhere," he said. "Where do you think she could have gone?"

I sighed. "I don't know, but we have to keep looking. She's in no condition to go after Silas alone."

"Levy is stronger than you give her credit for," Lily told me.

"I know she's strong," I snapped, "but with all of the weird stuff that has been going on with her, I can't take the chance of her going off on her own and something happening." My hands were shaking now, and I silently cursed them. I was more shaken up than I would ever admit to anyone. _I can't lose them both. I've already lost Levy once, and I don't think I could do that again. Especially not now._

"Let's regroup with the others. Happy, Carla, and I can search from the sky while you and the others search from the ground. We'll be able to cover a larger search area like that."

"Fine," I nodded, "but let's regroup fast. I have a bad feeling." _Shrimp, take care of yourself._

**_~Levy~_**

"Silas!" I gasped, sitting up as sleep left me. I had been having nightmares all night about what could possibly be happening to him.

"Mommy," Silas cried, clutching onto my shirt.

Relief washed over me as I pulled him into my arms and hugged him tightly. "Silas," I whispered, over and over again as I hugged him. "Thank God you're alright."

"He has a few scratches, but other than that he's in perfect health."

I looked up at the sound of Darrick's voice, and spotted him sitting a few feet away from me. He didn't look quite as alright as he claimed Silas was. Scratches covered his arms and face, and there was a large gash across his chest, ripping through his black shirt.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"I was ambushed while we were out searching for Silas yesterday. I must have gotten close to wherever they were keeping them, so they attacked me. I nearly got away until one of them snuck up on me and knocked me out."

"One of what?"

"Shadow Dwellers," he sighed. "There were at least twenty of the damned things. I managed to take out about half before I was knocked out. When I woke up, I was locked in here with Silas."

I looked around us for the first time, noticing we appeared to be in some sort of prison cell. The stone walls and floor were damp, and smelled of dirt and mold. The only source of light came from a candle on the wall facing the cell, and we seemed to be alone.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "All I know is we can't be far from Magnolia. We also appear to be underground."

Judging from the smell, I agreed with him. "How did I get here?"

"They brought you in a few hours ago. You seem to be unharmed, so I can't say how they captured you." Darrick frowned at me. "Don't you remember?"

I shook my head, looking down at Silas. "I went to sleep last night, and when I woke up, I was here with the two of you."

"That's strange," he murmured.

I nodded, stroking Silas's head and back, trying to soothe him as he laid on my lap. After a few minutes, he had fallen asleep. I was so relieved to see him that I felt like crying, but I told myself that it wasn't a time to be blubbering like a fool. I had to stay strong until we could escape, or until Gajeel and the others could find us.

Something had been nagging at me since Darrick had spoken, so I looked up at him. "Why didn't they kill you?" I asked. If Gajeel was who they were after, it seemed strange to me that they would keep him alive.

Darrick ran a hand through his blue hair, sighing heavily. "I think we were onto something before by saying that the Shadow Dwellers and Astaroth's followers were working separately. I don't think the Shadow Dwellers are after Gajeel. I think they're after you."

"Me?" I frowned. "Why would they be after me?"

"The vision you had of Astaroth back at the hospital, it isn't the only one you've had, is it?"

"How do you know that?" I asked. Darrick hadn't come back to Fairy Tail last night after I had had another vision of Astaroth. On top of that, I hadn't told anyone I had even _had_ another one.

"What did you see?" He asked, ignoring my question.

"I was in the forest, searching for Silas," I said. "All of a sudden, Astaroth was just there. I didn't even know I had been having a vision until I woke up in the infirmary back at Fairy Tail. Why?"

"I think the Shadow Dweller Gajeel killed before had been summoned to kidnap you, not kill you like we originally thought. I also don't think it was the Shadow Dweller that had possessed you when you had your vision at the hospital, nor do I think that's what happened this time either."

"Then what do you think is going on?" I asked. "Why are Shadow Dwellers after me, and a group of Astaroth's followers are after Gajeel?"

"The group of followers are being led by the former councilman, Michello. I believe that, in order to seek revenge against Gajeel, he made a deal with a demon, thus gaining that demon's powers. However, we both know that demons never just make deals with humans—former demon hunters especially—unless there is something in it for them. I am guessing that the demon who made a deal with Michello was one of Astaroth's followers who was seeking revenge anyways. Knowing that Michello would have useful resources, the demon agreed to the deal and possessed his body. Astaroth's followers all think Gajeel is the one who killed their master, so it wouldn't be hard to recruit them to help Michello."

"And what about the Shadow Dwellers?"

Darrick stared at his hands for several seconds before answering. "The Shadow Dwellers know the truth, and that's why they are after you. I'd say both groups were after Silas yesterday, but the Shadow Dwellers got to him first. Now that they have the both of you, I'm sure Astaroth's followers will learn the truth about who killed him soon and change their target to you."

"But Michello—"

"Has been possessed by a powerful demon. If that demon chooses to change his target to you instead of Gajeel, Michello won't be able to stop it. As long as they have been fused, if the demon leaves his body now he will die. Michello wouldn't risk that, so he would go along with whatever the demon wanted."

"How do the Shadow Dwellers know the truth?" I asked, dread filling me with every word he spoke.

"What did Astaroth say to you in your last vision?"

I rubbed my wrist, remembering how it had felt when he broke it in the vision. "How does that—"

"Please answer the question," Darrick interrupted, his golden eyes determined as they met mine.

"He told me he was alive, and that I knew deep down he was. After that, Gajeel showed up. But…" I trailed off, remembering the rest of the vision. _Gajeel shot me._

"But what?"

"How is this important?" I snapped. "And how do you know so much?" Darrick seemed to be way more informed than anyone else at Fairy Tail, almost as if he had always known. "None of that explains why they didn't kill you. Regardless of my visions, or who these groups are after, you aren't involved, so they wouldn't need you."

He met my eyes, and I was surprised at how sad they looked. "I'm more involved in this than I let on. Actually, I…I haven't been completely honest with you about who I really am."

"What does that mean?" I frowned. "Darrick, who are you?"

"There will be time for that later. What else happened in your visions? How did you come out of them?"

I sighed. "The first time, Astaroth shot me in the same place you did. The second time…the second time it was Gajeel who shot me."

"Interesting," Darrick mumbled.

"Now it's your turn to talk," I said. "Who are you, and how do you know so much?"

He shifted positions, turning towards me. When he did, his shirt also shifted, and I saw more of his chest from the ripped material. I wished then that I hadn't. As quickly as I could, I laid Silas on the ground and stood in front of him, pulling the knife from my boot as I did so. _Thank God I remembered to put shoes on before I left...however it was that I did._

"Levy," Darrick began, getting to his feet. "I—"

"Don't you come any closer," I snarled, unable to take my eyes away from his chest. It looked like a scar, but the shape was unmistakable. Branded into his skin was Astaroth's mark. _He's one of Astaroth's followers._

"I'm not one of Astaroth's followers," Darrick said, reading my thoughts.

"Then why do you have his brand?" I snapped.

His hand touched the skin on his chest where the brand was. "Will you give me a chance to explain?"

"You have three seconds," I said, gripping the knife firmly.

"I used to be a member to Astaroth's followers. After he was presumed dead, the cult fell into chaos. I took that opportunity to escape. I joined the Special Forces Unit in order to make up for my past. And after I learned of the cult's plan to kill Gajeel, I went to Fairy Tail and told Makarov everything."

"Why didn't you tell everyone else that this cult was trying to kill Gajeel?" I snapped, furious that his silence could have gotten Gajeel killed.

"If I had, I would have had to explain to everyone who I really was. I wanted to keep that a secret as long as possible. I knew that once you found out who I was, you wouldn't trust me anymore."

"You're damn right!" I held the knife up a little higher, "how do you know so much? And what did you mean by Astaroth was _presumed_ dead?"

"I think you know the answer to the second question by now," Darrick said, quietly. "We know that Shadow Dwellers aren't intelligent enough to come up with this plan on their own. And even if they were, why would they want you? We also know it takes a powerful demon to control this many of them."

I shook my head. "Astaroth is dead."

"In a sense," Darrick sighed. "The night you activated the explosion lacrima, Astaroth panicked, knowing he was about to be killed. In order to save himself, he placed part of himself inside of you."

"That's impossible," I snapped.

"It's true. He has remained dormant all this time because he was too weak to make a move."

"And he's strong enough now?" I asked, unable to believe Darrick's words. "Wouldn't I have known if Astaroth was inside of my body? And how could he control a large group of Shadow Dwellers without me noticing?"

"Because he hasn't been inside _your_ body for six years," Darrick said, glancing behind me.

I early dropped my knife when I realized what he meant. "N-No. Astaroth is dead."

"Astaroth has been very much alive all this time," Darrick told me. "Like I said before, he has just been lying dormant until recently. Tell me, when did Silas's dragon slayer abilities begin emerging?"

"A few months ago," I said.

"And when did the Shadow Dweller attacks begin on Fairy Tail, as if they were searching for you?"

"A few months ago," I whispered.

"Astaroth was lying dormant because he didn't have enough power to make a move. But, once your son began realizing his own abilities, and his magic began growing stronger, so did Astaroth."

"No," I shook my head. "Astaroth is not inside of Silas!"

"Levy, open your eyes!" Darrick snapped, knocking the knife from my grasp as he stepped closer. "If Silas wasn't your son, I know you'd be able to see it."

Again, I shook my head. Frustrated, Darrick put his hands on my face, forcing me to look at him. "Levy, think about it. You were weak at the time, too, so your body was easy for him to slip into. That would explain why you were in a coma for so long. Not only was your own body and spirit healing, but so was Astaroth's. And, what better vessel was there for Astaroth to hide in all these than a vulnerable child? If he slipped into his body before he was born, no one would notice. You would think the aura coming from Silas was just his, and you wouldn't suspect that part of it was Astaroth's."

He let go of my face and grabbed my wrist, looking at the red mark there. "This turned red after Gajeel found you, didn't it?"

"I—"

"With Gajeel's power so near, Astaroth became more active. Because that mark represents Silas, when Astaroth's demon aura would become more powerful than the half-demon aura, your mark would change to represent that shift."

"How do you know all of this?" I asked, feeling my world slowly falling apart around me. _That bastard Astaroth has been hiding inside of my son all this time! How did I not see it?!_

He released me, looking down at the floor. "I—"

A Shadow Dweller appeared outside of the cell, startling us both. It was a disgusting creature, with skin as black as the night sky, and eyes that were a hollow grey. It wore a long cloak that swayed around it in some invisible breeze, exposing only the demon's face and clawed hands.

"You are needed upstairs," it said, its voice a low growl.

Darrick turned towards the demon, stepping in front of Silas and me defensively. "They aren't going anywhere."

The Shadow Dweller laughed, the sound sending chills through my bones. "Not them. I have come for you, Master Darrick. Half-demon heir of Lord Astaroth."


	13. 12: The Son of Astaroth

I stood there completely dumb-founded as the Shadow Dweller led Darrick away from the cell, the two of them disappearing into the darkness. _Darrick is Astaroth's son? That doesn't make any sense! Why would he help Fairy Tail if he is Astaroth's son? Not only that, but that Shadow Dweller called Darrick Astaroth's _heir_. What the hell does that mean?!_

"Mama?" Silas's sleepy voice caused me to momentarily forget how furious I was.

"I'm here," I soothed, sitting down beside him.

"Where did they take Darrick?" He asked, sitting up and looking around.

"I don't know," I sighed. "Don't worry about him. I'm going to get us out of here, alright?"

"How?" He sniffed, rubbing his nose.

"I'll think of a way," I told him, smiling. He nodded, giving me a small smile in return. As he leaned against me, I remembered what Darrick had said about Astaroth. "Silas?"

"Huh?" He looked up at me, his red eyes curious.

"Have you ever felt something strange coming from inside of you? An odd feeling, or maybe a voice?"

"You mean the funny man," Silas nodded with a smile.

My throat tightened. "What funny man?"

"He talks to me sometimes," he explained. "And I see him in my dreams a lot. But he told me to keep it a secret unless you asked about him."

"And what does he look like in your dreams?" I asked, wanting to cry.

"He has blue eyes, and a bunch of scars," Silas said. "But sometimes he looks like a demon. He told me that his name is Uncle Marley."

A felt a few tears roll down my cheeks as I pulled him against my chest, hugging him tightly. _Damn it._

**_~Gajeel~_**

"How far could Shrimp have gone in just a few hours?!" I exclaimed, kicking a tree. "Why haven't we found her yet?"

"There must be something we're missing," Lily said, sounding just as frustrated as I was. "She couldn't have just disappeared over night."

"What if whoever took Silas came back for her?" Natsu asked.

"Why would they do that?" I frowned. "If they have Silas, they already have something to use against me."

"They might have found out the truth about what happened to Astaroth," Lucy suggested.

"Wouldn't they have just killed her?" I asked. "Why go through the trouble of taking her if they wanted revenge?"

"Perhaps we should talk to that half-demon woman again," Lily said. "She was the one who tipped you off that someone was coming after Silas, right? Maybe she knows something that could be helpful."

"I'm not leaving Magnolia," I growled. "I have to keep looking for Levy and Silas."

"We can handle things here," Gray said. "You're the only one who can get answers out of her, so you need to go."

"I'm not—"

"Trust us, Gajeel," Wendy smiled. "We'll keep searching until you return."

"And the faster you leave, the faster you can return," Juvia added.

Slowly, I nodded. "Look under every damned rock while I'm gone."

"And you get some answers out of that woman," Natsu grinned.

"I plan to," I growled before running to the train station. It took three hours by train to reach Era, which meant it would be at least six hours before I'd make it back to Magnolia. Add however long it would take to get answers out of that woman, and it would probably be the next day before I would be able to get home. _I hope the others find Shrimp and Silas by then._ If anything, I hoped the Shadow Dwellers had contacted me or made some kind of move by then so that we _could_ get to Levy and Silas.

"Good afternoon, Councilman Redfox," the guard at the front doors said, bowing as I approached.

"Yeah," I said, walking passed him into the building. I went straight to the holding cells, stopping outside of the woman's.

"Back so soon?" She chuckled from her seat on the cot.

I used my keys to open the door of the cell, slamming it shut behind me after I went inside. I made sure to lock it, then put the key back into my pocket.

She frowned, getting to her feet as I approached her. "What are—"

I cut her off with a growl as I grabbed the front of her shirt and slammed her into the wall. "You're going to tell me what you know about that damned group of yours. Where did the Shadow Dwellers take my son?"

She gasped. "Shadow Dwellers?"

"Yes, Shadow Dwellers," I snapped. "Where did they take Silas? You warned me about them yesterday, so you know where they took him. Talk!"

She shook her head. "Damn those beasts," she mumbled.

"Answer my question!" I slammed her into the wall again, my patience long gone.

"The Shadow Dwellers do not work for Lord Michello," she wheezed. "They must have beat our people to that boy of yours."

"You're saying you aren't working with them?" I asked, not believing her.

"Would one have attacked me on the street if I had been?" She snapped. "They are being led by someone else. Who, we don't know. Lord Michello didn't bother with them, since they seemed to have a different target."

"And who would that be?"

She grinned. "Where is your woman, councilman? She hasn't gone missing too, has she?"

"Levy is their target?"

She chuckled, her grin turning into a smirk.

"What do they want with Levy?" I asked, my voice nearly a snarl.

She shrugged. "Like I said, we didn't bother with them. If they killed the hunter woman, it didn't matter. But now that they have taken the son as well, I'm sure Lord Michello will no longer be able to ignore them, for we no longer have anything to use against you."

"What were you going to use them for, anyways?"

"To lure you out," she said, almost sounding bored. "Master Michello was going to lure you to a designated location, and then kill the boy before killing you. It was a wonderful plan, actually."

I slammed her against the wall again, a low growl rumbling deep in my chest.

"Careful," she winced, "if you kill me you won't be able to get anymore information about Lord Michello's plans."

"Unfortunately for you, I have everything I need from you," I frowned, releasing her as I stepped back. "I know enough about Michello's plan to create a counterattack, and I also know he isn't the one who has Levy and Silas. Without them being in danger from your group, you're useless to the council."

A small look of fear crossed her face as I exited her cell. "W-What are you going to do to me?"

I turned to her, throwing the door open. "I'm going to let you go. Crawl back to that psycho master of yours and tell him that you just told me all about his little revenge plan. While you're at it, you can tell him that as soon as I get my son and Levy back from those Shadow Dwellers, I'm coming after him."

"I-I can't go back there now," she whispered. "Lord Michello will kill me for betraying him."

"And if you stay here you'll be executed," I said, coldly.

"You won't make me leave," she said, almost desperately, "you aren't a cruel man."

"You're seriously mistaken, then," I snapped, glaring at her. "In case you forgot, I used to be at the top of the council's most wanted list. I've killed hundreds of demons like you, and I'll have no problem adding one more to that list. Stay and die or leave and die. I don't really care." Before she could reply, I turned and left. I was wasting time with her. I needed to get back to the others and tell them about the Shadow Dwellers.

"Maybe the old man knows something," I thought aloud as I boarded the train. Hopefully I'd get some _useful_ answers soon so I could end all of this.

**_~Levy~_**

"Get some sleep," Silas told me, patting me in the leg when I yawned.

"I'm alright," I smiled. It had been a long time since the Shadow Dweller had taken Darrick, and neither had returned since then. Part of me secretly hoped they had forgotten about Silas and me down in the basement.

I looked up when I heard footsteps, quickly getting to my feet and shoving Silas behind me. "Who is it?" Silas asked. I hushed him, putting my hand on the knife I had retrieved after the Shadow Dweller had taken Darrick.

A worse-for-wear Darrick was led to the cell by a Shadow Dweller—the same one or different, I couldn't tell—and was shoved back inside before the door was locked behind him and the demon disappeared. He immediately collapsed against the wall, sitting heavily and clutching a new wound across his stomach.

"Darrick!" Silas exclaimed, shooting passed me and rushing to the man. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great," he chuckled, ruffling Silas's hair. "Don't you worry about me."

"What were they doing to you?" I asked, noticing several new injuries on him.

"They were trying to convince me to fulfill my duties," he sighed, "and punishing me for leaving."

Remembering what we had learned about who he really was, I grabbed Silas's arm and pulled him away from Darrick before balling my fist and punching him as hard as I could. Although I knew he probably could have, he didn't try to block or dodge it, instead choosing to sit still and take the blow. "You bastard!" I snapped, really thinking about hitting him again.

"Before you hit me again," Darrick said, holding up his hand, "let me explain."

"That's what you said before, but you lied to me."

"I wasn't lying to you," he told me, shaking his head. "I was part of Astaroth's group of followers, and I really did flee when he was believed to have been killed. After that, I forged a new identity and joined the Special Forces Unit. Because of my training under Astaroth, I moved quickly up the ranks. When Gajeel exposed the old council, and claimed to have been the one to kill Astaroth, I decided to remain as part of the council so I could conduct my own investigation.

"As soon as I discovered you had disappeared, I knew what had really happened. It was you who killed Astaroth, and Gajeel was taking the blame to allow you to live a safe life away from hunters' organizations and demons. Isn't that right?"

"How do you know all of that?" I asked. "Why would my disappearance tell you all of that?"

"Because I knew about your past with Astaroth, and I knew about your connection to Gajeel."

"How?"

He met my eyes, smiling a little. "Because I've been keeping an eye on you for Astaroth since you were born. What he told you in the woods the night you nearly killed him wasn't exactly the truth. You see, he knew you were there the night he killed your parents. A demon as powerful as him would have been able to easily sense a terrified child hiding underneath a bed. He did a lot of research on your parents before he killed them, so naturally he found out about you early into that research."

I frowned, confused. "Then why did he let me go?"

"Astaroth enjoys a challenge. He thought that if he let you go you might become that challenge he craved. He knew your parents would leave you under the care of Makarov if anything were to happen to them, so he knew you would become a demon hunter. So, he took up the identity of Marley the bartender and watched over you. When you weren't in the bar, or if he was busy, it was my job to follow you. I was responsible for sending demons your way, bringing requests to your attention, and making sure you were constantly getting stronger.

"Secretly I hoped that you would be able to put an end to Astaroth. I planned on revealing myself to you when I thought you were ready to face him, but unfortunately everyone's plans changed when Gajeel arrived and you were bonded to him. After that, Astaroth grew furious and decided that you were no longer worth the wait. That's when he began attacking your friends in Fairy Tail. He wanted to play with you—to get you angry—before he killed you."

"But things didn't go the way he wanted," I said.

Darrick nodded. "He never expected you to be that determined. Entering your body was a desperate attempt at saving his own life. And seems as though it worked." He sighed, glancing at Silas.

"How is he controlling the Shadow Dwellers from Silas's body?" I whispered, not wanting Silas to hear.

"His demonic aura is strong enough to manipulate them," Darrick answered. "Although it has been six years, everyone in the demon world can still recognize Astaroth's aura, so it wouldn't be difficult for him to control them even from Silas's body far away. It's also possible that Astaroth can take control of Silas's body now that he's stronger—"

"I would have noticed something like that," I interjected, not wanting to hear about Astaroth controlling my son. The thought of that bastard inside my son's body made me want to be sick anyways.

"That's a good point," he murmured, thinking. He gasped suddenly before looking up at me. "Unless he isn't controlling them from Silas's body at all."

"What do you mean?"

"When did those visions of Astaroth begin?"

"You were there for the first one," I said, frowning.

"What about dreams? Have you ever dreamt of Astaroth?"

"I had nightmares all the time," I admitted, thinking I understood where he was going with his theory, "but they got particularly bad after Silas's dragon slayer abilities began emerging."

"What if they weren't nightmares?" Darrick said. "What if Astaroth was using your body to send out a command to the Shadow Dwellers. Once he started getting stronger in Silas's body, the part of himself he left inside of you would grow stronger as well. Silas's body may not be strong enough for him to take full control over, but yours is. While you're sleeping, your guard is down, and it would have been all too easy for him to slip into your mind and send commands to the Shadow Dwellers."

"Damn him," I spat.

"I truly am sorry for deceiving you, you know," Darrick said, his golden eyes meeting mine.

I frowned, going to the other side of the cell with Silas and taking a seat. "That doesn't change the fact that you did. Besides, I still don't know if I can trust you. For all I know you're working with those demons to help resurrect Astaroth—sorry, your father."

He sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't expect you to. Just know that I _am_ going to try to help you two escape."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Silas asked, speaking up.

Darrick smiled. "Getting you two out of here is my top priority."

"Why?" I frowned.

He chuckled, "it's not time for that just yet. But, I'll explain everything once we get out of here. No more secrets."

"Daddy will save us," Silas said. "I know it."

I smiled, pulling him into my lap as I hugged him. "I'm sure he will."

Once Silas had fallen asleep, Darrick got to his feet, breathing heavily as he leaned against the wall. "Do you still have that dagger?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Why?"

He grinned, "I think I have a plan."


	14. 13: Escape

"Do you really think this will work?" I asked. I had woken up Silas, and Darrick had told me his plan. Apparently, there were two Shadow Dwellers guarding the exit of the cellar. From what he could see when they took him away before, the cellar was built into the ground in the middle of the forest. That explained how they had been able to disappear so quickly after kidnapping Silas.

He said there were several more Shadow Dwellers throughout the forest, acting as guards to prevent anyone from getting near this place. And this place, he told me, was the clearing I had fought and nearly killed Astaroth. They were planning something, and soon, but Darrick wasn't sure what it was. So, he advised it would be best to escape before finding out.

"I think it could, if we act fast," Darrick nodded. "Ready?"

"Yeah." I looked at Silas, putting my hands on his shoulders as I met his eyes. "Silas, when I say run, I want you to run as fast as you can, alright? Try to pick up the scent of the guildhall, and head straight towards it. If you can't find the scent, just keep running anyways. I'll be right behind you."

"I want to help," Silas protested.

I hugged him. "You can help by getting out of here, away from the demons. Find Gajeel and tell him I'm at Astaroth's clearing. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," Silas nodded.

"Repeat it back to me," I said.

"Find daddy and tell him you're at Astaroth's clearing."

"Good," I smiled, kissing him in the forehead. "I love you, Silas."

"I love you too," he told me, hugging me tightly.

"Guards!" Darrick shouted. In a few moments, the two Shadow Dwellers that Darrick claimed to be stationed at the cellar's entrance came into view.

"What?" One asked in a deep voice.

"I'm ready to take my place as Astaroth's heir, and to assist you in resurrecting him," Darrick announced. "I can see now that I was foolish for choosing mortals over my demon lineage. My father's vision is becoming clear to me, and I wish to see that he returns to make it happen."

Darrick was incredibly convincing as he spoke. Even I believed him a little bit. He stood tall, staring at the Shadow Dwellers confidently as he waited for them to respond.

When it seemed as though his planned hadn't worked, one of the demons came forward and unlocked the cell. As soon as it opened, Darrick shot from the cell with incredible speed, stabbing the Shadow Dweller that had opened the cell with my dagger. The other one barely had time to react before Darrick's hand plunged into his chest.

I noticed the clawed fingers as he pulled his hand from the Shadow Dweller's chest and wiped it on the demon's robe. _He's a half-demon, so being able to transform like that shouldn't surprise me._

"We need to move," he told us. "We don't want to get trapped down here if more come. It would be better to face them out in the open."

I nodded, pulling my dagger from the Shadow's Dwellers head and holding it tightly. "Stay close," I whispered to Silas, following Darrick above ground.

We were spotted immediately by three Shadow Dwellers who rushed towards us. "It's now or never," Darrick grinned, his other hand transforming to match the claws on his already transformed hand.

"Silas, get ready to run," I said.

"I—I think I can smell the guildhall."

"Good," I smiled. "As soon as I tell you, run straight towards it. Don't look back until you get there."

"And then tell daddy you're in Astaroth's clearing," he nodded, a determined look on his face.

He looked so much like Gajeel in that instant that my chest swelled with emotion. _Silas is the son of a Dragon Slayer. He'll make it out of here._

Darrick took on two of the Shadow Dwellers, keeping them occupied while I dealt with the third one. "Silas, now!" I shouted. As I finished off the demon, I heard Silas scream. I turned, freezing when I saw a Shadow Dweller holding onto Silas. He was struggling helplessly against the demon's grip.

"Silas," I called, "your breath!"

His terrified eyes met mine, and I saw understanding cross them. He gave me a small nod, calming down. He turned his small body to face the Shadow Dweller, then took a deep breath. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" The demon dropped Silas as shards of iron sliced into its face and chest. I smiled proudly, watching him disappear into the trees as he made his way back to Fairy Tail.

"Levy!" Darrick shouted, getting my attention. I ducked as a clawed hand swiped at me, jumping out of the way. "Stay on guard. I can sense at least four more coming this way."

"We can take them," I said, confidently. Darrick didn't look as confident. I noticed he was clutching the gash across his stomach, and there was quite a lot of blood dripping from it onto the ground. "Wendy will heal you as soon as we get to Fairy Tail," I told him, hoping he would make it that long.

"And then I can tell you everything," he added.

"No more secrets," I smiled, repeating what he had told me earlier.

He nodded, jumping back into battle with three more Shadow Dwellers. _Damn,_ I thought as two came after me, _I wish I had my gun!_ I could have taken out all five of the demons easily if I had still had it. It had been a long time since I fought like this, so a gun would have been easier than a dagger—and faster. _I hope Silas is alright._

Darrick's plan had been to draw the attention of all the Shadow Dwellers to the clearing, allowing Silas to slip away into the forest undetected. By the time any of them noticed he was missing, he would be nearly to Fairy Tail, and out of their grasp.

"Darrick!" I shouted when a Shadow Dweller knocked him to the ground.

"I'm alright," he wheezed, struggling to his feet. "Keep fighting."

"You're chest wound is open now as well," I said, frowning worriedly at him. He was covered in blood—both his and the Shadow Dwellers'—and he looked extremely pale.

"Never mind me," he snapped. "Focus on the demons!"

"You'd better not die before you can tell me everything!" I warned.

He smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it."

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Over here!" I shouted to Natsu and the others. I had arrived back from the capital a few hours before, and had immediately joined back up with the search party. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to find anything while I was away. As we were getting ready to move to a different part of the forest to search, I had picked up a familiar scent. _That's Silas._

I ran towards the scent, praying it wasn't my mind playing some sick joke on me. A rustle from the bushes ahead brought me to a halt. I prepared to fight, noticing Natsu and Lucy do the same.

As soon as I saw the head of black hair, I nearly collapsed from relief. "Daddy!" Silas shrieked, spotting me once he was out of the bushes. He threw himself into my arms, and I held onto him tightly.

"Thank God," I breathed. "Where's your mother?" I asked, looking at him. "Where's Levy?"

Tears filled his eyes, but I could tell he was trying to put on a brave face. "She's with Darrick, fighting the Shadow Dwellers. There were so many of them, but she made me promise not to look back until I found you."

"Where is she?" I asked again.

"In—In Astaroth's clearing."

"Lucy, take Silas back to Fairy Tail. Have Wendy check him out to make sure he isn't hurt."

"Right," Lucy nodded, picking up Silas.

"I'll be right back with your mother," I promised before taking off, Natsu on my heels.

We reached the clearing in no time, and I thanked God that it hadn't been far from where we had already been looking. "Shrimp!" I shouted, transforming my arm into a club and smashing it into the head of the Shadow Dweller currently attacking her.

"Gajeel!" She gasped. She was covered in small cuts, but she didn't appear to have any major injuries. Darrick, on the other hand, didn't look as well off. He was bleeding heavily from two large gashes in his chest and stomach, and he was struggling against the group of four Shadow Dwellers he was facing.

"Natsu—"

"On it!" He grinned, rushing to help Darrick while I went to Levy.

"Are you alright?" I asked, wrapping my arms around her.

"Yeah," she sighed, "but Darrick—"

"Natsu's helping him," I said. I shoved her behind me when another Shadow Dweller attacked. I blocked its clawed hand with my Iron Dragon's Sword, and used it to cut the damned thing in half. Three more demons met the same fate when they were foolish enough to attack as well.

"How many more of these things are there?" I growled, watching as Levy took down another one. _Was that ten, or eleven?_ I had lost count of how many I had killed, and I hadn't even been paying attention to how many Natsu and Darrick had taken out.

"I don't know," Levy answered, shaking her head. She was breathing heavily, and I remembered that it had been six years since she had been in any sort of battle.

"You okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "Don't worry about me. We need to take care of the remaining Shadow Dwellers and get Darrick back to Fairy Tail."

"How the hell did he even get here, anyways?"

"I'll explain later," she said. Another group of Shadow Dwellers attacked before I could reply. Natsu joined in to help out, and we soon finished them off.

"Darrick!" Levy exclaimed.

Another group of Shadow Dwellers had appeared while we were distracted, and had captured Darrick. When Levy ran towards them, one of the demons lifted its clawed hand and held it to Darrick's throat. "Don't come any closer," it warned in a low growl.

"Gajeel, take Levy and get out of here!" Darrick shouted.

"If she leaves, I will kill this man," the Shadow Dweller growled. "The dragon slayers will leave and send back the child—alone. We will then leave with all three of them, and you will not follow."

"No," Gajeel said, hatred radiating off him in waves. "I'm not doing a damned thing you bastards say."

"Take me," Levy said, stepping forward. "Leave Silas out of this, and let Darrick go."

The Shadow Dweller let out a blood-curdling chuckle. "Foolish woman. We need all three of you in order to resurrect lord Astaroth. Now," he pressed the tip of one of his claws into Darrick's skin at the base of his neck, "do as I say, and get the child. Or watch this man die."

"He's bluffing," Darrick shouted, looking directly at me. "Take Levy and get out of here. They need me, so they won't kill me."

"Why are you so willing to die for Levy and Silas?" I frowned, not impressed with his hero act. Even if the Shadow Dwellers wouldn't kill him, that didn't mean he wouldn't die anyways from the injuries he already had. If we left here without him, he would most certainly die. Since he had just met Levy, I wanted to know why he was so determined to protect her—and how he always seemed to know what was going on before anyone else did.

He glanced at Levy, but before he could answer, the Shadow Dweller holding him growled. "Enough! Woman, drop your weapon and come with us. We will obtain the child in a different way."

"You aren't laying another finger on my son," Levy snapped. "Let go of Darrick, and we might just make your deaths less painful."

This time, all of the demons laughed. "Foolish woman. This man is expendable. If he dies, we will find another to take his place. Don't test my patience any longer."

"You're not getting my son," Levy said. She gave Darrick an apologetic look, and he smiled in return. Even if it meant his life, Levy wasn't going to hand over our son—and neither would I.

In one swift movement, Darrick ripped off the arm of the demon holding him, and used its own arm to stab it in the chest. "Run!" He shouted.

I picked up Levy, doing as he said. _He may be a bastard, but I can't hate him. Especially not now that he's sacrificing himself so we can get away._

"Wait!" Levy shouted, struggling against me. "We have to help him! In that condition, he'll die!"

"Don't you think he knows that?" I asked. "He wanted us to go, so we're going to honor that wish and get the hell out of here."

She managed to break free just as a cry rang through the air. I turned just in time to see one of the Shadow Dwellers plunge their clawed hand into Darrick's stomach.

**_~Levy~_**

"NO!" I screamed, taking off towards Darrick and the group of Shadow Dwellers.

"Levy!" Natsu and Gajeel called, chasing after me.

I tore my way through three demons to get to Darrick, and I heard Natsu and Gajeel begin fighting the remaining ones as I crouched down next to Darrick.

"Darrick, hang in there," I said, pressing my hands to the hole in his gut to try and stop the bleeding.

"Listen," he said, placing a hand over mine. "I need to…tell you the truth…before I—"

"Wait until we get back to Fairy Tail," I whispered, knowing he wouldn't make it that long. "Tell me once you're better."

He let out a short laugh, followed immediately by a wince. "Sorry. I don't think I'll be going back there again."

"You have to," I told him, feeling tears prick my eyes, "you promised Silas."

"Levy, the reason…the reason I came to Fairy Tail wasn't just because of the Shadow Dwellers' and the cult who worships Astaroth. I came so I could finally get to meet you."

"Why?" I asked.

"You know I'm a half-demon," he paused to cough, and blood covered his hand when he drew it away, "and you know that Astaroth is my father. But my mother…was Lillian…McGarden." I gasped. My eyes felt like saucers as they met his.

"M-My mother was…"

He nodded. "It was seven years before you were born. That's why she and Phillip left Fairy Tail. They wanted to protect me from Astaroth, but he still got to me. I was raised by a demon family in his service, and was trained as his second-in-command. When he found out your parents had given birth to another child, he was furious, and killed them out of anger. But, he let you live because he wanted to fight you when you were stronger, and make you suffer knowing he had taken your parents from you."

"They never said anything," I whispered, stunned.

"You were too young," he sighed.

"That's why you've been protecting me since you got to Fairy Tail," I said, more tears filling my eyes.

He nodded. "I've failed as a big brother up until now, so I hoped I could make it up to you."

"You have," I told him. "But you have to stay alive, alright? You can't die right after you tell me something like that!" I winced as my wrist suddenly erupted in pain.

_You can't escape your fate that easily, boy_, a voice rang inside my head. I gasped when I recognized it as Astaroth's voice. As if moving on its own, my arm with the moon tattoo lifted.

"Levy, what are you doing?" Gajeel asked, and the forest suddenly went quiet as he and Natsu defeated the last group of Shadow Dwellers.

I was too panicked too respond. I didn't know how, but Astaroth was controlling my body. I met Darrick's eyes, and he understood immediately. "Levy, he's going to—" Before he could finish, I brought my arm down, plunging it into the hole in his stomach.

"Levy!" Gajeel and Natsu both gasped.

"Darrick!" I cried, trying to pull my arm free. My tattoo was on fire now, and I felt dizzy.

He cried out in pain, and I watched as his eyes turned red. With a wicked laugh, he suddenly grabbed me around the throat with a surprising amount of strength. "Good girl," he smirked, but his voice was no longer his own.

"Astaroth," I breathed, staring at him in wide-eyed terror.

He yanked my arm from his body, and the wounds began healing almost instantly. He tossed me away like a doll, and I cursed as the last of my strength left me. "I will be back for you and my little vessel. It appears this body is a stronger host than I hoped. Thank you for delivering part of my soul to him."

He disappeared as Gajeel lunged forward to attack him, his laugh echoing off the trees around the clearing. Once he was gone, Gajeel ran to me, scooping me up.

"Levy?" He asked. "Are you alright?"

I was too weak to answer. I could feel consciousness slowly slipping away from me. I felt totally defeated. It all made sense now. The Shadow Dwellers had needed me because I still had a part of Astaroth's soul inside of me—just as Darrick had guessed. And Darrick had been the perfect body for the soul, since he was Astaroth's son—and my brother.

I felt tears leaking from my eyes as I slipped into unconsciousness. _Darrick was my brother…and I killed him._


	15. 14: Astaroth's Return

**_~Gajeel~_**

"How is she?" Lucy asked as soon as I left the infirmary.

"She's awake," I answered, sighing, "but she isn't talking. I don't know what happened back there with Darrick, but it really hurt her."

"Natsu said something about Astaroth coming back," she told me.

"That's what it seemed like. Though, I can't say for sure. The only one who knows what actually happened is Levy."

"How's mommy?" Silas ran over to me, looking worried. Wendy had been able to heal all of his injuries even before we had returned with Levy. I was thankful he hadn't had anything more than a few scratches and a couple of bruises. _Although, if they needed him alive, I don't suppose they would have wanted to take any chances._

"She's going to be alright." I smiled, picking him up. "Now that you're safe, I'm sure she's going to be fine."

"Where is Darrick?" He asked.

"He," I paused, not really sure how to answer, "he won't be coming back."

"What?! Why not?"

"He—"

"Gajeel," Makarov said, exiting the infirmary, "Levy would like to speak with you alone for a moment."

"I'll explain everything when I'm done talking to your mother," I told Silas.

He nodded, hugging me tightly before going back to the table with Lucy and her girls. I went straight to Levy. Her face was still pale, and the pained look in her eyes went straight to my chest. "Shrimp?" I took a seat in the chair beside her bed and gently grabbed her hand.

"Sorry for worrying you," she said, turning her hazel eyes to me. "How is Silas?"

"He's the same as he was a few minutes ago when you asked," I chuckled. "He's with Lucy and the girls, so he's just fine. We are going to have to tell him about Darrick, though." Her eyes filled with tears and shot back to the hand she held clenched on her lap. "You're going to have to tell _me_ about him," I said, as gently as I could.

"He was my brother," she told me, her voice barely above a whisper.

I gaped at her. "What?"

"Darrick told me, right before I killed him, that he was my brother. He said it happened seven years before I was born, and that's why my parents left Fairy Tail. I was always told it was because they found out my mother was pregnant with me, and they didn't want to raise me in such a dangerous world. But Master Makarov just explained everything.

"Apparently, my parents had taken down quite a few of Astaroth's most powerful servants—including one that he had been training for over a hundred years to be his second in command. To get revenge, instead of killing them he decided to use them to create another second in command. So, one night while my father was out, Astaroth disguised himself as my father and tricked my mother—resulting in her getting pregnant.

"He had made it clear as soon as it was over that he had tricked her, flaunting the betrayal in her face—right in front of my father. When she found out she was pregnant, she panicked. At that time, women were still ostracized if they were marked, so she knew she wouldn't be able to get any sort of help from the council. Instead, she and my father fled and went into hiding. The only one who knew where they had gone was Master Makarov."

She paused to take a deep breath, and I held her shaking hand a little tighter. "Although they did their best to protect him, Astaroth still managed to take Darrick only a few days after he was born. My parents spent the next three years searching for him, but to no avail. Astaroth had taken Darrick and disappeared. They eventually gave up, knowing that they wouldn't be able to find him if Astaroth had gone to such great lengths to hide him.

"When they found out I was going to be born, they moved across the country to a tiny little village in order to settle down with me. Again, only Master knew where they were. When I was four, Astaroth learned about my birth and grew furious. He had been so sure that my mother wouldn't have any more children after suffering Darrick's loss. Angry that they could still find happiness, he decided just to kill them."

"So, Darrick is Astaroth's son _and_ your brother?" I asked, shocked.

She nodded. "He has been observing me for Astaroth since I was brought to Fairy Tail as a child. He hoped I would be able to someday kill Astaroth."

"You did kill Astaroth," I reminded her. Though, I was still confused about what had happened back at the clearing.

"I thought I did," she said, more tears filling her eyes. They looked as though they could fall at any moment. When she met my eyes to continue, they finally did. "I'm so sorry, Gajeel."

"There ain't nothin' you need to apologize for," I soothed, wrapping my arms around her as I took a seat on the bed.

"He's in Silas," she whispered, more tears rolling down her cheeks. "When I activated the explosion lacrima, Astaroth threw his soul into my body in order to save himself. Then he went into Silas's body in order to hide his aura from me as he grew stronger. I never noticed, and now our son is in danger. I—"

"Listen to me," I snapped, forcing her to meet my eyes. "How were you supposed to know what that bastard had done? From where I'm sittin' it seems like you did everything you could to destroy Astaroth. That's all that matters. Silas is safe now, so we'll figure out how to remove that bastard from his body, alright?"

"But he isn't safe," Levy whispered. "Part of Astaroth was inside of me—that's how he has been controlling the Shadow Dwellers. And I just put that piece of Astaroth into Darrick. Now that he's controlling Darrick's body, he'll just keep growing stronger, and he'll always be able to sense Silas."

"That's why we have to get his soul out," I said.

"We can't."

"And why the hell can't we?" I frowned.

"Gajeel, Astaroth's soul has been in Silas's body since before he was born. Their souls are connected, fused together. If we take Astaroth's out, Silas will die."

"There has to be a way."

"I'm sorry," she cried, burying her face in my chest. "I'm so sorry."

I held her as she cried, unable to comfort her. I had always been bad at comforting people, no matter how badly I wished I could. In Levy's case, I knew that nothing I could say would help. Once she had fallen asleep, I covered her up and returned to the main hall.

"Gajeel!" Natsu shouted, running across the room as soon as he spotted me.

"What, Salamander?" I asked, frowning.

"Bad news," he said, holding up a piece of paper, "this is an emergency summons to Crocus. All of the council members have been summoned by the king."

"Damn it," I growled, "I don't have time for that. Do you know why?"

His face looked grim and he nodded. "Apparently, Astaroth just went on a killing spree, taking out the entire Special Forces Unit, and half of the king's army."

"Lily?" I asked, immediately.

"Here," Lily answered. He had gone back to Fairy Tail with Lucy earlier, in charge of keeping Silas safe until I returned with Levy. I was actually pretty glad I hadn't sent him to Era to check on that half-breed woman, finding out if she had returned to Michello or stayed in our prison.

"Natsu, go get that cat of yours. We're going to have to fly. And tell your family goodbye," I sighed, "it's hard to tell how long we'll be gone."

"Same to you," Natsu nodded, immediately going to the table where his wife and daughters sat.

I went back to the infirmary and kissed a sleeping Levy on the forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can," I promised. I made the same promise to Silas, who was trying his hardest to stay strong, though tears filled his eyes as he hugged me. "I wouldn't go unless I had to. You know that, right?"

He nodded, his grin matching his mother's perfectly. "I know. I'll keep mommy safe while you're gone."

"Good. I'm countin' on ya," I smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Ready?" Natsu asked. I nodded, following him outside. Lily grabbed my shirt, and Happy grabbed Natsu's, before they both took off into the air.

In just a couple of hours we had reached the capital. Several other council members were arriving at the palace as we landed.

"Gajeel, what is going on?" Doranbolt asked as soon as he spotted me.

"You got the same letter I did," I told him.

"You know what I mean," he shot. "I thought you killed Astaroth. His body was even recovered. How the hell is he back—in a different body—and openly attacking the council? Wasn't that man a member of the Special Forces?"

"It's a long story," I sighed. "I'm sure I'll have to explain everything inside, so just wait until then."

"Whatever is going on, it isn't good," he frowned. "Astaroth being back means a lot of trouble for everyone."

"I know that," I growled. _That's why I want to finish things here quickly._ I thought of Silas and what Levy told me about part of Astaroth being inside of him, and I sighed. _This is going to be a mess._

**_~Levy~_**

"Welcome back," Lucy chuckled as soon as I opened my eyes.

"Silas?" I asked, looking around.

"He's sleeping over there," she answered, pointing to his sleeping form just three beds over. Crammed on the bed with him was all three of Lucy's girls. Poor Silas in in the middle with Layla, and the two of them looked squished.

"How late is it?"

"Around ten. You slept through dinner, but we decided to just let you sleep."

"You should have woken me," I sighed, sitting up. "I'm Silas's mother. I should be up taking care of him, not laying here feeling sorry for myself."

"You went through a lot today," Lucy said, placing her hand over mine.

"You know what happened?"

"Master told me," she nodded. "He said he was going to leave it up to you to tell everyone else, but he wanted at least one person here who could understand what you've gone through."

"One?" I frowned. "Where's Gajeel?"

"He was summoned to the capital, along with the other council members, for an urgent meeting with the king."

Dread crept into my veins, turning my blood to ice. I knew the answer before I even asked, but I needed to hear her confirmation. "Is it Astaroth?"

"Yeah," she said, quietly. "He wiped out the SFU, and killed half of the king's army when they were sent in as backup."

"What else?" I asked, sensing that wasn't the whole story.

After debating with herself for a few silent moments, she sighed. "About an hour ago, Astaroth appeared on the steps of the palace and told everyone the truth about what happened six years ago. He said that you had been the one who nearly killed him—not Gajeel. He also said that, until you and Silas went back to the clearing with him alone, then he would continue killing people. He gave you until tomorrow morning to make a decision."

"He's an idiot if he thinks I would actually go," I scoffed.

Lucy said nothing, worrying me as she stared down at her hands.

"Lu-chan, what else is there?"

"He said he would release Darrick if you went. Apparently, there's still a way to save him."

"Darrick's alive?!" I asked. I was sure that his soul would have died as soon as Astaroth entered his body. _But, since the piece of Astaroth's soul was so small, maybe he _is_ still alive! If there is any chance of saving him, I have to—_

"No," Lucy snapped, reading my thoughts. "Don't even think about it, Levy. You know it's just another trap."

"What if it isn't?"

"If it isn't, are you really going to take Silas back to Astaroth?"

"No," I answered immediately, "but I could still go and try to save him."

"And leave Silas here while you run off to your death?" She frowned.

"He won't kill me. Not without getting Silas first. He knows if he kills me, he'll have nothing to use against Gajeel to get him to hand over Silas."

"Which he wouldn't do anyways."

"I'd kill him if he did," I nodded.

"For now, you just need to stay here with Silas. Master put a protection spell on the place to keep out any unwanted demons. Even half-demons who haven't been given a mark from Master can't get near the place."

"Is he sure it's strong enough to keep out Astaroth?"

"In his weakened state, yes," Lucy nodded.

"So, I'm trapped in here until further notice," I sighed, not liking the idea at all.

"I'm sorry," she said, patting my shoulder.

"No, it's alright," I smiled. "At least Silas is safe. I'll do anything, as long as I know he'll be safe. I just hope Gajeel will be alright."

"I don't think the devil himself could take Gajeel away from you and Silas," Lucy grinned.

"Levy, good, you're awake," Master smiled, coming into the infirmary. "Gajeel is on the phone for you in my office. I told him I'd see if you were awake and felt like talking."

I nodded, following him back to his office. "Gajeel?" I asked, holding the phone up to my ear.

"Hey, Shrimp," he answered, sounding exhausted. "Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. How's Silas?"

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "He's asleep in the infirmary with Lucy's girls. They all crammed into one of the little beds together."

He chuckled. "I'll have to tell Salamander."

"When will you be home?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "I'm hoping to make it back by tomorrow afternoon. Since Astaroth's little show here at the palace, I've had to do a lot of explaining. These damned fools are going crazy. They even threatened to take me out of the first chair and replace me."

"What?!" I gasped. "What did you do?"

"I told them I quit and walked out," he chuckled. "Those idiots were tripping over themselves trying to get me to come back."

"Gajeel," I sighed, a smile tugging on my lips.

"Shit, I need to go. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Gajeel?" I asked, unsure if he was still on the line.

"Yeah?"

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too, Shrimp. I'll try to finish here quickly so I can get home."

"I'll see you then." I hung up the phone, letting out a long sigh. _Gajeel, stay safe._

After I returned to the infirmary, Lucy forced me to eat something, then told me to go back to bed. She crawled onto the bed beside our children and fell asleep almost instantly. As I stared up at the ceiling, I wished I could take her advice and get some more rest. But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sleep.

Images of Darrick and Astaroth plagued my mind, making sleep impossible. I couldn't stop thinking about what Lucy had said. _If Darrick's alive, I need to find a way to get Astaroth out of his body!_ Perhaps, if I could somehow figure out how to get Astaroth out of Silas's body, I could use the same process to free Darrick. _It's a similar situation, so it's worth a shot._

When morning finally came, I had gotten maybe two hours of sleep. Deciding there was no point in staying in bed now that the sun was up, I went to the small washroom that was attached to the infirmary and took a quick shower. Gajeel had given Lucy a house key before he left, and she had packed Silas and me an overnight bag while I had been sleeping.

"I'll have to thank her," I murmured to myself as I left the infirmary. Lucy and the children must have woken up while I was in the shower, because their beds were empty.

"Good morning, Levy," Mirajane smiled in greeting. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. Sorry about missing dinner."

She waved me off. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad to have you and Silas back safe and sound."

"Thanks," I smiled. "How's Laxus?" After everything that had happened, I had almost forgotten that he was attacked not too long ago.

"He's healed up and back to normal," she told me, smiling brightly.

"Good."

"Mommy!" Silas shouted, jumping on me.

I giggled, hugging him tightly. "Good morning, Silas. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, but Layla's a bed hog," he whispered, snickering when the girl heard him and her face turned pink.

"Well, you snore!" She pouted.

I laughed, setting him on his feet. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Mira's getting it ready now," he said. "Are you going to eat with us?"

I nodded. "I missed dinner yesterday, so I can't miss breakfast now, can I?"

He smiled. "No."

Things seemed normal as we all ate breakfast together. If it hadn't been for Gajeel's absence, I almost could have fooled myself into thinking things _were_ going back to normal. That is, until Silas suddenly stopped eating and looked up at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Uncle Marley is coming," he said, quietly.

I dropped my fork. "What?"

"I can sense him," Silas told me. "And he's coming."

"Lucy," I said, getting her attention.

"What?" She asked, smiling. Her smile fell when she saw the look on my face. "What?" She repeated.

"Go get Master. Astaroth is on his way."

"What?!" She gasped. "Are you sure?"

"Silas said he can sense him," I nodded.

"Shit," she cursed, instructing her girls to stay put while she got up and ran towards Master's office.

"Silas," I said, meeting my son's crimson eyes, "are you sure he's coming?"

"Not anymore." Silas shook his head. "He's here."

I had just enough time to look up before the doors of the building burst open, having been pushed hard enough to knock them off their hinges. I watched as they fell to the ground with a loud clatter, getting everyone's attention. Standing just outside the doors was Darrick.

I gaped through the open doorway at him. He had long since discarded his shredded shirt, and was now wearing a gray, sleeveless turtleneck, over which he had on a long black coat. His jeans were still the same, however, as well as his black boots. All in all, he didn't look like he had just massacred over two hundred soldiers.

When he met my eyes, a wicked grin spread across his face. "Hello, Sunshine," he chuckled, his hands in his coat pockets.

"Darrick!" Silas exclaimed, excitedly, and rushed towards the door.

"Silas, no!" I grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him back.

"But—"

"That isn't Darrick," I said, trying to ignore his mocking laugh. "You have to stay right here behind me, alright?" He nodded.

"I'll take the children to the basement," Wendy said, carrying Penelope.

"I'll help her," Mira announced.

"Go with Wendy and Mira," I told Silas, hugging him tightly. "They'll bring you back once it's safe."

"I don't want to leave you," he whined, clutching onto my shirt tightly.

"I need to know you're safe," I said. "And you have to go with them to help protect the other children. Can you do that?" He nodded, wiping his eyes. I smiled and kissed him. "I love you."

At the sound of Darrick's laugh, I turned back to him. "You think he'll be safe just because you sent him to the basement?"

"He'll be safe because of the barrier around this place," Makarov said, coming from his office with Lucy.

"A mere human barrier can't stop me," he scoffed.

"Then why are you still standing out there?" Makarov asked, calmly. I hadn't realized it, but he was. He had blown the doors off the building, but he hadn't made the first move to come inside.

Ignoring the old man, Darrick met my eyes. The once golden irises were now tinted with red, and almost glowed. "Come, Levy. Bring the child and come with me."

"No."

He frowned. "I am losing my patience with you. Bring the child to the clearing, or I will begin killing your precious comrades." He turned and walked away from the building, saying nothing more.

"Bastard!" Droy snapped, going to the doorway and pulling out his gun. He fired four shots at Darrick, and I watched in shock as they all seemed to bounce off him, not even touching the material of his coat.

Before anyone could react, Darrick turned and was upon Droy, ripping the gun from his hands and turning it on him. He met my eyes, smirking. "Bring the child to the clearing. Or more will die."

"Droy!" I managed to scream just as he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight into Droy's heart.


	16. 15: Five

"DROY!" Time seemed to slow as I watched Darrick pull the trigger. I was running to my old friend even before the echoes of the shot had disappeared, along with Darrick.

I reached him just before he hit the ground, tumbling under him in an attempt to soften the fall. "Droy!" I shouted, my instincts taking over. I ripped the bottom of my shirt off and used it to try and slow the bleeding. "Droy, stay with me!"

Jet was beside me now, placing his hands over mine with a larger rag. As he took care of the wound, I put my hands on Droy's face. "Droy," I begged, "come on, damn it!"

"Levy," Lucy said, sadly.

I shook my head, knowing what she was going to say. "Go get Wendy," I told her.

"There's nothing—"

"Get Wendy!" I shouted, feeling tears fill my eyes. "She can save him! She has to!"

"He's gone, Levy," Master said. "He's already gone."

"No." My tears won out, running in streams down my face. "He can't die." I looked down at his still form, begging him again and again to open his eyes. When Jet's hands left, I looked up, meeting his grief-stricken face. He shook his head slowly, tears soaking his own cheeks.

"Droy," I whispered, "I'm going to get him for this. I swear, he'll pay." As Droy was taken into the infirmary, Jet helped me stand and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Go," I told him, knowing he'd rather be with Droy. "I'll be alright."

"Levy, I'm not leaving y—"

"I'll be alright," I said, offering him a smile. "And I'll be here when you get back."

I listened to his retreating footsteps, trying to pull myself together. The building had gone eerily silent, other than the quiet sobs of our guild mates. I wiped my face and took a deep breath. I knew what I had to do, and sitting around crying wasn't going to help anyone.

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked, following me deeper into headquarters.

"I'm not going to stay here and wait for Astaroth to come back and kill another one of my loved ones," I snapped. I reached the supply closet and threw it open.

"You can't go after him," Lucy gasped, watching as I took out two of our highest-powered handguns. They had special bullets that could pierce even the toughest of demon skin. I strapped them to each of my thighs, then grabbed a larger gun and slung it across my body. The thing was nearly as long as I was, but it was light so it wouldn't be a burden to carry.

"You're going to get yourself killed," she went on, angrily. "You haven't really been in any battles in six years, Levy. This is _Astaroth_! You can't beat him like this!"

"I'll find a way to," I told her, shoving two daggers down into my boots. I grabbed the ones coated in poison, just for good measure.

"What about Silas?" She asked, following me again as I headed back into the main room.

"He'll be safe here."

"Levy!" She snapped, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me slightly. "Stop and think for a damned minute! If you go after Astaroth you're going to die!"

I smiled sadly before hugging her. "I know," I whispered, releasing her and running out the doors.

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Councilman Redfox," one of the king's guards said, entering the large meeting room I was sitting in with the other council members.

"What?" I sighed, wondering what the hell they could want now.

"I have an urgent call for you from Master Makarov of Fairy Tail," he said.

I excused myself and hurriedly followed after him. "Makarov?" I asked, taking the phone.

"Gajeel," Master said, his voice sounding somber.

"What happened?" Dread filled my veins like ice, and I was afraid to hear his answer.

"Droy is dead," he said, quietly.

The air left my lungs in an audible _whoosh_. "How?"

"Astaroth came here, but he couldn't get passed the barrier. As he was leaving, Droy went to the edge of the barrier and attempted to shoot him. His hand must have crossed it, because Astaroth was able to steal his gun."

I could imagine what happened after that. "Levy?" I asked.

"That's the other reason I called," he sighed, sounding exhausted. "She went after Astaroth."

"What?!" I practically shouted. "And you just let her go?!"

"She left before I had the chance to stop her," he said. "I was tending to Droy when she left. I didn't know she had until Lucy came to me. Jet has gone after her, but he isn't in the state of mind to be fighting either."

"Damn it!" I growled. "Don't let Silas leave under any circumstances, alright? I'll be there in two hours."

"They were going to the clearing," he told me.

I hung up, running back to the conference room. "I'm electing Doranbolt as head chair until further notice," I said, grabbing Lily and Natsu. "There's some urgent business the three of us need to attend to. I don't know when we'll be back."

Doranbalt stood up, "and what would that be?"

"Astaroth just attacked and killed one of my comrades from Fairy Tail," I said, "and the woman I love just ran after him like a damned idiot." I didn't give them time to respond, running from the room with Natsu and Lily on my heels. Happy met us out front, and we took to the air, the two Exceed flying as fast as they could.

"Who did he attack?" Natsu asked.

"Droy."

"Shit," he snapped.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"She go after him alone?" Natsu asked, and I knew he meant Shrimp.

"Jet went with her."

"Damn."

_Shrimp, why couldn't you just wait for me?!_ While I had no doubt in my mind that she could kill _Astaroth_, I knew she wouldn't be able to kill Darrick. So, as long as Astaroth was in his body, he'd already won.

"I hope we can get there in time," Lily said, voicing the silent thoughts of all of us.

"We will." I tried to sound sure, but we were still over an hour away. If Shrimp was on her way there now, she would make it to the clearing long before we did. _Which means we might be too late this time._ I didn't want to think about it, so I just focused on Astaroth, and how I was going to rip the bastard into little pieces once I got my hands on him.

"Listen," Natsu said, his tone serious, "I think when we get back to Magnolia we should split up. Me and Happy will go back to Fairy Tail and get Wendy, while you and Lily go after Levy. No matter what happens, we're going to need her there for after the fight."

I was surprised he had put so much thought into it. "Sounds good," I nodded. "But you'd better not take too long, got it?"

He smirked. "I wouldn't miss this big of a fight! You and Levy got all the fun last time, so you'd better save some for me."

"I'll try," I grinned.

**_~Levy~_**

"Darrick!" I shouted, not even taking a moment to catch my breath as we reached the clearing. Jet had caught up to me about halfway to the clearing, and had refused to return to Fairy Tail. Having no choice, I allowed him to come, hoping he would be able to help me.

"I told you to bring the child, not this worthless hunter." Astaroth frowned as he emerged from the darkness of the trees.

"Darrick, I know you're in there," I pleaded, staring into his red-gold eyes.

He laughed, a wicked smirk spreading across his face. "Foolish woman. Darrick died the moment I entered his body. I have you to thank for delivering my soul to him."

"If I had known part of your soul was inside of me, I—"

"What could you have done?" He sneered. "You wouldn't have killed yourself—or your son. And there was no way of _forcing_ me out of your body."

"I would have found a way."

Again, he laughed, the mocking sound echoing around us. "Always so positive."

"Enough talking," Jet snapped, drawing his gun. While his usual style involved hand-to-hand combat, he had brought along a few weapons, knowing Astaroth wouldn't go down so easily.

Astaroth turned his gaze to Jet, and he frowned. "You're marking your death, boy."

"I'll pay you back for what you did to Droy," he said through clenched teeth.

"Droy?" Astaroth asked, amused.

"The man you just killed back at Fairy Tail!" Jet shouted, furious.

"Ah," Astaroth said, casually nodding. "That fool practically begged me to take his life. You should be thanking me for ending him quickly. I considered ripping his arm off."

Jet sped passed me before I could stop him, shouting angrily. "Jet, stop!" I gasped, watching as he fired several shots at Astaroth. Having grabbed just a normal gun, the bullets had no effect. He didn't even flinch when they hit him.

"Bastard!" Jet cursed, pulling out a dagger which he launched at Astaroth's head. Looking almost bored, he knocked the weapon out of the way.

When he suddenly reached out and grabbed Jet by the throat, I felt myself react out of instinct. I yanked one of the handguns from my thigh holster and pulled the trigger. The bullet sank into the flesh of Astaroth's arm, and he released Jet with a hiss.

"Get the hell away from him!" I shouted to Jet. Nodding, he put several feet between them, thankfully getting out of his reach.

"I see you got a better gun," Astaroth chuckled, meeting my eyes. "But I see you still don't have what it takes to finish me. You could have just as easily put that bullet in my head just now, but you didn't. You can't bring yourself to kill the body of the man you just discovered was your brother."

"Why didn't you tell me the first time we fought that I had a brother?" I asked, unable to deny what he said. It was true, I _could_ have killed him. But I couldn't shake the feeling that Darrick was still in there. I refused to give up hope until I was sure.

"You didn't need to know about him," Astaroth said, bored again. "He was raised for the purpose of becoming my vessel. Any ties to you was coincidental and didn't matter."

"How can you say that?!" I was furious. "My birth was the entire reason you killed my parents! You were angry that they could still be happy after what you did, so you had to lash out and get revenge."

"Is that what he told you?" Astaroth asked, smirking. "No, no, my dear. I killed your parents because they defied me. After your mother gave birth to my vessel, I let them live—on the condition that they have no more children. You see, Lillian and Phillip were both the last of their bloodlines—two very old and very powerful demon-hunting families which had married their only children off to one another in order to continue those lines. Once they died, there would be no one left from either line to continue it."

"What about Darrick?" I frowned.

He laughed. "Darrick is a half-demon. His blood is tainted, according to council."

"The old council," I corrected.

Again, he smiled. "That doesn't matter. Only a purebred _human_ can carry on the blood, so he was irrelevant. You, however, could ruin all of my plans to stop those damned families from continuing."

"You told me you killed my parents because they killed several of your followers. Was any of that true?"

"It was, but it wasn't the only reason they had to die. Some of their sins weren't even theirs to bare—they belonged to their ancestors. Those families have been hunting me for years, killing my followers and nearly succeeding in killing me a few times. That is why I must end your line."

"There will always be hunters, even if I'm dead."

"But they will belong to new, naïve hunter families, ones which can be exterminated quite easily. Yours is an annoyingly persistent line."

"Good," I snapped, causing him to laugh.

"I have grown tired of talking. Whatever questions you have, they no longer matter. Bring me the child, and I will agree not to slaughter your entire organization."

"No," I answered, sternly.

He smiled a little, his mocking gaze traveling slowly to Jet. "You. Bring me the child."

"Like hell I would," Jet growled.

Astaroth sighed. "Very well." Before I could even blink, he had crossed the clearing and grabbed Jet by the arm, twisting it behind him.

Jet cried out, struggling against Astaroth once his initial shock wore off. "Let go, bastard!"

"Listen closely, Levy," Astaroth said, looking directly at me as he ignored Jet's threats, "I am going to shoot this hunter with his own gun. He will bleed to death in less than twenty minutes unless he receives medical attention. There is a medical demon at your organization, so take him there as quickly as you can. Once you are there, get the child and return with him. If you don't do as I say, I will return every thirty minutes and kill one more of your comrades. I advise you to not keep me waiting long."

"Bast—" He shot Jet before I could finish, then disappeared. Jet fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding side. The bullet appeared to have gone straight through. While that meant we wouldn't have to dig it out of him, it also meant he was bleeding from two holes—losing even more blood. As much as I wanted to go after Astaroth, I knew I had to get Jet back to Fairy Tail.

"Go," he wheezed, wincing as I helped him to his feet. "I'll make it back on my own. You go after him."

"Don't be stupid," I snapped, leaning his weight on me as I rushed us through the trees as fast as I could. "I'd never leave you here to die."

"He's going to kill more people," he said.

"No he won't. I'm going to stop him before then," I promised.

"F-For Droy," he nodded, sounding incredibly weak. He was leaning more heavily against me now, too.

"Stay with me. We're almost there."

"Yeah." We were just outside the broken doors of Fairy Tail when he passed out.

"Jet!" Several people heard me, and they immediately rushed to help. Elfman picked him up with ease and ran him to the infirmary, Wendy close behind.

"Thank God!" Lucy cried, pulling me into a lung-crushing hug. "Don't ever run off like that again! I wanted to go after you, but Master told us to stay here. He said that having more of us in harm's way wouldn't help you any."

"He was right," I sighed. "Sorry."

"What happened to Jet?" She asked.

"Astaroth shot him to send me another warning."

"What was the warning?" Master asked, coming through the crowd.

"He said he would kill one member of Fairy Tail every thirty minutes until I brought Silas to him."

"Then take me," Silas said, appearing from the hallway leading to the basement. Mira came chasing after him, apologizing for letting him sneak passed her.

"Absolutely not," I frowned.

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt. If Astaroth wants me, then take me to him."

"He'll kill you," Master said. I wanted to scold him for being so blunt, but I couldn't really hide the truth from Silas anymore. Not with everything that had happened.

"I know," Silas said, calmly.

"Go back to the basement with Mira," I told him. Hearing him say that made my chest ache. I wouldn't let Astaroth have Silas. No matter what.

"He told me to come," Silas frowned. "He said that he was going to kill Layla next."

Lucy gasped from beside me. "How do you know?" She asked.

"He talks to me sometimes," Silas said, telling them what he had told me only a short time ago. "I guess it's his soul or something. That's why he wants me. He won't last forever with only part of his soul in Darrick's body, so he needs the rest of it." He paused for a moment, then met my eyes. "I can't let him kill Layla."

"He can't get to her as long as she's in here," I reassured him.

He shook his head. "He can now. He knows how."

I looked to Master. "Is that possible?"

He sighed, nodding solemnly. "I assumed he would break through the barrier eventually, but I didn't think it would be so soon. I was hoping Gajeel and the others would return before then."

"Gajeel is on his way?" I asked, confused. _I thought he had to smooth things over with the council?_

"I called him as soon as you left. I was afraid you two would get yourselves killed, so I called Gajeel so he could stop you."

"He's coming," Silas said, looking out the doorway.

"Mira, go guard the children," Master instructed. "Levy, take Silas and go with her. We'll hold him off up here."

"This is my fight," I frowned, indignantly. "I'm not hiding in the damned basement!"

"This is your last chance." Astaroth cut off any reply Master might have had as he walked slowly to the edge of the barrier. "Come with me and bring the child, or the little dragon-slayer girl dies."

"Don't even think about touching my daughter," Lucy seethed, grabbing her whip.

"I'll go," Silas said, stepping towards Astaroth.

"Stop right there," I snapped grabbing his arm. "You aren't going anywhere."

When he looked up at me, I nearly let go of him out of shock. His face was emotionless, and his eyes were cold. He didn't look like the loving little boy I had raised at all. I realized then that Astaroth must have been controlling him in some way. He would have known that _that_ would be his only option. Since I wouldn't give Silas to him, he'd make Silas go to him willingly.

"Silas, you can't go with him."

"I want to help," he said. "Droy died because of me, and now he's going to hurt Layla. I don't want that."

"He isn't going to hurt anyone else," I promised, knowing it wouldn't do any good if Astaroth was controlling him.

"Levy," Astaroth said, impatiently, "I will count to three. If you do not come with me, I will kill the girl. One."

"Lu-chan, take Silas into the basement," I told her. The other children were already there, so Astaroth would have to go through the entire organization to get to her.

"Levy, he's threatening _my_ daughter, too," she frowned. "I'm going to pay him back for that."

"Lu—"

"Two."

_Darrick, I'm sorry, but I can't take any more chances._ I raised my gun, preparing to shoot before he could attack.

"Th—"

"Iron Dragon's Sword!" The attack seemed to come out of nowhere, crashing into Astaroth. He barely had enough time to throw his arm up to shield himself when the iron sword came into contact with his skin, cutting deeply into the flesh. He was thrown back, and I let out a little sigh of relief.

"Gajeel," I breathed, smiling at him. Natsu, Happy, and Lily rushed into the guildhall after him.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" He snapped, storming towards me. _Uh-oh._ "You were supposed to stay here with Silas, not run off after Astaroth without thinking. What if something had happened to you?!"

"Gajeel, now isn't the time to—"

"You have gotten in my way for the last time, Dragon Slayer," Astaroth growled, slowly approaching the edge of the barrier once more. His arm was already healing itself, and was as good as new before he reached us.

"I know," Gajeel growled right back, "because I'm going to rip your damned head off this time."

Astaroth laughed. "I think you'll be too busy to worry about me." As he spoke, several Shadow Dwellers appeared, along with a large group of other demons. _Those are members of his cult,_ I thought, recognizing his mark, visible on many of the demons and half-demons.

"Master," I said, looking at him apologetically. This was all my fault. I had brought this upon Fairy Tail, and now even more people were going to get hurt because of me.

"Raise your head, child," Master Makarov told me. "You are a member of Fairy Tail. If you fight, we fight with you. Don't forget that."

I nodded, preparing myself for the chaos that was about to erupt.

"Happy," Master said, "you and Carla take Silas to the basement with the other children. Send Mirajane to help us up here."

"Aye!" Happy nodded, grabbing Silas's shirt and taking off with him, ignoring his protests.

"I thought his followers were taking orders from Michello," Natsu asked.

"They must have saw his little display and went to him," I frowned. "That means Michello will be with them."

"Good," Gajeel grinned, cracking his knuckles. "I owe him an ass-kicking, too. Right after I finish with Astaroth." Not waiting for the group of demons to reach us, Gajeel charged Astaroth. "Iron Dragon's R—" He was cut off when something crashed into his side, sending him rolling across the ground.

"Gajeel!" I ran after him, and the others followed, going further to meet the demons before they reached the building.

"Hello, Gajeel."

"Michello?" I gasped, staring at the ex-council member. The demon had taken over him completely—probably due to Astaroth's return—and he looked barely human. He had always seemed slightly feline-like because of the tail and whiskered mustache, but he now had ears and fangs, and nails that were long and pointed like claws. His eyes were also an eerie yellow, and his pupils were nothing more than little slits.

"I will deal with you next, girl," Michello snarled, glancing at me. "I promised this human revenge, so I will kill the Dragon Slayer first. Then I will capture you for Lord Astaroth."

"You'll be dead before then," Gajeel informed him, turning his arm into a sword and attacking again.

Before I could do more to help him, three Shadow Dwellers surrounded me. "You're in the way!" I shouted, drawing my other gun and shooting them. Thanks to the special bullets, I only needed to land one good shot on each demon to kill them.

"Gajeel," I called out to him, trying to get through the crowd of demons so I could help him.

"Don't worry about me," he grunted, blocking an attack from Michello, "go help the others."

"Don't die," I warned him, nodding.

He smirked, nodding back. "I don't plan on it, Shrimp."

**_~Gajeel~_**

"Damn, you're persistent," I growled, kicking Michello in the gut as he swiped his claws at me. We had been fighting for a while now (ten, twenty minutes? When had I sent Shrimp to help everyone else?) and he wasn't letting up at all. Although he had been quite old as a human, the demon controlling his body was powerful, making up for it.

"This human's hatred towards you is quite delicious," the demon snickered, attacking again and sinking his claws into my right shoulder. I winced, punching him in the face.

"Your organization cannot win this, Dragon Slayer," the demon said, confidently. "Lord Astaroth's army is endless, and it shall keep coming until everyone in Fairy Tail is dead."

"You obviously don't know Fairy Tail very well," I smirked. "We aren't as easy to kill as you think."

"Really?" He asked, a wicked smirk on his face. "Didn't Lord Astaroth already kill one of you? And from the looks of it, several more have met the same fate."

I chanced a glance at where the rest of the organization was fighting Astaroth's demons. After I did, I wished I hadn't. I couldn't tell who, but there were a couple of ours lying on the ground, sickeningly still. _They're just unconscious_, I told myself, hoping I was right. Unfortunately, I didn't think I was.

Not giving me time to linger too long away from our battle, Michello lashed out with his claws again. "Shit," I gasped, clutching at the new wound on my stomach. Michello was in just as bad a shape as I was, but the bastard wasn't slowing down at all. I focused on fighting him again, trying to put everything else out of my mind.

But after several more minutes had passed, I grew anxious. I wanted to finish him quickly so I could help Wendy with the wounded—at least get them out of harm's way until she could tend to them—but I was getting nowhere with Michello.

"Getting tired?" Michello snickered, his cat ears twitching and his tail swishing in his amusement.

"Shut up," I growled.

"You'll want to duck," Michello stated, flatly.

I was about to ask him what the hell he was talking about when I saw someone flying towards me out of my peripheral. I ducked down just as a Shadow Dweller was thrown by me, turning to dust when it hit a tree.

"Sorry," Lily said, landing beside me. "I went a little overboard with that one."

"Have you seen Shrimp?" I asked. I hadn't seen her since she went off to fight the other demons. Astaroth had also disappeared, so I hoped she wasn't fighting him alone somewhere.

"No," he shook his head. "I've been a little busy."

I sighed, "right. Lend me a hand taking out this pest so I can go look for her."

"Don't get full of yourself," Michello snapped. "Even with help I will still defeat you."

"If you're so sure, stop talkin' and fight!" I took a deep breath, letting it out with a breath attack that hit him before he could dodge.

"It doesn't seem like you need my help," Lily commented as Michello rolled across the ground, unable to catch his footing.

"The little bastard doesn't know when to quit," I told him. "He's as banged up as I am, but he refuses to give up."

"Then we should make it quick," Lily grinned, adjusting his grip on his sword.

I transformed my arm into a sword once more, nodding. _We'll have to. I'm starting to run out of magic._ Because our powers were different from other demons, running mostly on old magic, we were unable to fight using our Dragon Slayer techniques once it ran out. _I'll just have to find a gun or something once it does. I can't stop fighting until I find Shrimp and make sure she's alright._ And then there was Astaroth to deal with. _Damn, I might be in trouble._

Michello got to his feet and moved to attack me, but Lily and I cut him off, both of our swords piercing his body. He let out a shout as he fell to the ground, his blood soaking the grass around him. Lily left us to return to the main battle, and I turned to follow him, pausing when I heard Michello chuckle.

"What the hell's so funny?" I growled. He was dying, so he had nothing to laugh about.

"You may have defeated me, but you will never be able to defeat Lord Astaroth. His power is too great. He will win."

"We've defeated him once, we'll do it again." With a final chuckle, he turned to dust. "Damn," I growled, rushing into the middle of the main fight, hoping to find Levy.

"About time you showed up," Natsu grinned, taking out a Shadow Dweller as I approached.

"I had some old business to finish," I said. "Is Shrimp here?"

"I saw her a few minutes ago closer to headquarters," he nodded. "She was fighting a group of half-demons."

I wasted no time, immediately going in the direction he had pointed. Levy was where Natsu had said she was, though her fight was coming to an end. She shot a remaining half-demon between the eyes, then discarded her empty gun onto the ground.

"Shrimp," I said, relieved that she seemed to be in one piece. She had a few injuries on her arms and legs, but nothing too deep. They would heal in a few days—even sooner if Wendy helped.

"Gajeel." She pulled me into a brief hug. "Thank God. What happened to Michello?"

"Dead."

"Good," she sighed. "Come on, we have to keep fighting. I lost track of Astaroth after a Shadow Dweller attacked me, and I haven't been able to find him. He didn't make it into Fairy Tail, so I think he may be lurking in the forest, waiting until the fighting dies down to make his move. We have to find him before that."

"And kill him," I added.

She nodded, her eyes sad, "and kill him. Even if Darrick is in there, I can't let him have Silas. If he gets ahold of him and completes his soul, then Darrick will die anyways. It would be better to end it now, before that can happen."

"It's too bad you won't get that chance."

Levy cried out as a force slammed her into the front wall of the organization. I turned to face the threat, a growl rumbling low in my chest as my eyes fell on Astaroth. He discarded his black coat, leaving his arms bare. On his right bicep he still bore the Fairy Tail insignia, white like Levy's. Apparently it hadn't disappeared when he took over Darrick's body. _That bastard doesn't deserve that tattoo._ I made a silent vow to rip his arm off for tarnishing our organization's mark.

"About time you came out of hiding, coward," I snarled.

"You're mistaken," Astaroth smiled, "I wasn't hiding at all. I was observing. Watching you pathetic hunters fall, one right after the other, brings me great joy."

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" I shouted, furious. The spell hit him, but it didn't have much effect. He had barely a scratch on him. _I'm out-matched. My magic won't hold out much longer._

"Astaroth!" Levy snapped, joining me. She stood beside me, her face hard with anger.

"Do you really want to fight me again?" He asked, bored. "You have already proven that you can't kill me."

"I wasn't as angry last time," she said. She aimed her remaining handgun and fired off three shots. Even after six years, she was incredibly skilled with the small guns. Every shot hit him, each in a different place. The first in the right shoulder, the second in the stomach, and the third in his right leg. He cursed, dodging a fourth shot.

"Gajeel," she looked up at me, and I could see a plan forming in her mind. "How much magic do you have left?"

"Enough for a few more attacks," I told her, honestly.

"I want you to focus all of your remaining magic into one breath attack. Can you do that?"

"Yeah."

"On my signal."

I began pulling all of my remaining magic, focusing it as I slowly inhaled. I trusted in Levy's plan, so I'd go along with it. _But if it fails, I'll be out of magic._ I shook myself, knowing I would just have to believe we wouldn't fail.

Astaroth sped towards Levy, but she didn't move. Instead, she looked at me, slowly lifting her fingers. When the third one rose, I released my magic. Astaroth was only a few feet away from Levy by then, so the magic hit him with incredible force, completely enveloping him. I pulled Shrimp out of the way, even as the force knocked me to the ground.

**_~Levy~_**

Gajeel grabbed my arm as soon as he attacked Astaroth, pulling me away from most of the blast. The force of it sent us tumbling to the ground. I looked behind us after we fell, trying to see through the dirt that had been stirred up. "Did it work?"

"I don't know," he answered, helping me to my feet.

"Levy!" More arms were suddenly around me, and I smiled when I recognized the blonde hair.

"Lu-chan, I'm glad you're alright," I sighed, hugging her back. "Has the fighting stopped?"

"Yeah. After Gajeel attacked Astaroth, the few remaining demons fled. There were only about twenty of them left."

"Good," I smiled. The dust had settled now, but Astaroth was gone. I had a feeling deep in my gut, however, that he had managed to escape. He wouldn't go down so easily. _But he will be badly injured from that attack, so it will take him a long time to recover._

I could, see that Lucy had been right about the fighting. Everyone was on their way back to the building, helping those who were more injured than they were. Once everyone had passed us to go help Wendy and Porlyusica in any way they could, I let out a relieved breath. _It doesn't look like anyone is dead._

"Lucy!" I giggled as Natsu pulled his wife into a tight hug, kissing her right on the mouth. "You okay?" He asked her once he released her.

"I'm fine," she answered, breathless. "You?"

"Nothing a good meal can't fix," he grinned.

"What about the others?" I asked.

His face fell, then, and he looked in the open doorway at our battered comrades. "Most of us are alright. Wendy took a few severely injured to the infirmary, and Porlyusica showed up sometime in the middle of the battle to help with healing, too."

"How many?" Gajeel asked, causing all of us to look up at him. I knew by his tone and the look on his face that he wasn't asking about the injured.

"Counting Droy, five," Master answered for Natsu, his face grim and his voice tired. "Elfman helped Wendy recover the other four while the battle was still going on."

"Who?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. My gut clenched into a tight knot, and I felt like getting sick.

He let out a long breath, meeting all of our eyes. "Freed, Alzack, and Cana all fell while fighting Shadow Dwellers."

"And who was the fifth?" Gajeel asked.

"When Astaroth came out of hiding near the end of the battle, before he went to you two, he was challenged."

_So, Astaroth killed the fifth person himself. In total, five of our comrades lost their lives today. And all because they were trying to protect Silas and me from Astaroth._ Hatred swirled inside me even more at the thought, along with fear and guilt. Someone had tried to stop him from reaching me, and it cast cost them their life.

"Who was it, damn it?!" Gajeel snapped, clenching his fists.

Master met his eyes, and I knew then who it was. Even before he spoke, I was running towards the infirmary to confirm it, unable to believe it unless I saw with my own eyes.

"The fifth, was Pantherlily."


	17. 16: No Time to Grieve

The inside of headquarters was just as chaotic as the battle had been. People were running around, helping with the wounded until Wendy or Porlyusica could come. The infirmary was full, so those who couldn't sit or stand were laying on the tables. I rushed through the crowd, trying to ignore the sad faces of my comrades. They had all heard about the others, so tears were flowing from nearly every eye in the room.

When I reached the infirmary, Wendy and Porlyusica both looked up at me. They were at different beds, tending to Evergreen and Bixlow. Wendy's eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she looked exhausted, but she was still doing what she could for everyone.

"Where are they?" I asked, quietly.

Wendy burst into tears then, unable to answer me. I wanted to hug the poor girl, but I needed to see them first. I prayed Master had made a mistake. "They're in the back," Porlyusica told me.

I ran passed the beds, going to the back wall. They had been placed on sheets on the floor, most likely to make room on the beds for those who still had a chance. I looked at each one of them, committing their faces to memory, and silently vowing to avenge them.

First was Droy. Having been my oldest friend apart from Jet, I felt his loss one of the most. He had always been there for me, and I wished there had been more I could have done for him. I had been so close, yet it had all happened so fast.

Second was Alzack. He had taught me how to shoot my first gun when I was little. Although he wasn't much older than me, he had always been one of the most skilled shooters I knew. I could only imagine how Bisca and Asuka felt, and the thought made my chest ache.

Third was Freed. We hadn't been as close as the others, but I owed most of what I knew about demon spells to him. He had introduced me to the runes and magic of demons when we were children.

Fourth was Cana. I had to wipe tears from my eyes as I stared at her bruised face. Until Lucy had joined Fairy Tail, Cana had been my closest girl-friend. We had grown up together, and it was still hard to accept that she was gone.

And fifth was Lily. My legs finally gave out when I got to him. He was no longer in his battle form, and he looked so tiny lying next to the others. "Lily, why did you try to stop him?" I asked, my voice barely audible passed the lump in my throat. I touched his head, softly petting him in the way I always did, while praying that this was all just a terrible nightmare. Unable to stop myself, I picked him up and cradled him in my arms as gently as I could, pressing my cheek against his soft nose as tears ran down my face. "I'm so sorry, Lily. I'm so sorry."

I wasn't sure how long I sat like that, holding Lily against me and repeating over and over that I was sorry. A hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my daze, and I looked up, meeting a pair of crimson eyes. "Gajeel," I whispered, miraculously finding more tears to shed.

He took Lily from me and returned him to the floor before pulling me to my feet and wrapping me firmly in his arms. That's when the last of my composure fell apart. I clung to him, sobbing like a child. After an eternity, I pulled away and wiped my face. "Where is Silas?"

"Still in the basement with Happy and Carla. Master thought it would be better if we kept the kids down there until things calmed down up here."

"I need to see him," I said, walking passed Gajeel. After everything else that had happened, I needed to know he was alright.

"You need to take a few minutes to rest first," he told me, catching my arm.

I shook my head. "What I _need_ is to see my son."

Sighing, he followed me. "You just lost five people who were important to you, don't you think you should rest? You haven't even had time to grieve them yet."

I turned on him, frowning. "I've neglected Silas enough since we returned to Fairy Tail, that's not going to happen anymore."

"You haven't—"

"I have. I should be there for him right now, not the other way around. With Astaroth still out there, there isn't time to grieve. We have to go after him before he can recruit more followers and return. He's injured right now, so he's vulnerable. We can't wait."

"What are you saying, Shrimp?" He asked.

"I'm saying, I'm going to go in the basement and hold my son for a little while. Then I'm going to go kill Astaroth."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" He snapped.

"I don't know yet," I admitted, continuing towards the basement. "But I will."

"Shrimp, listen to me," he sighed, "you need to take a minute to calm down and think about it. I want to go after him just as badly as you do—I'm sure everyone in Fairy Tail does—but I can still see how bad of an idea this is."

"What else am I supposed to do?" I asked, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat. The image of Lily back in the infirmary on that sheet sent a new wave of emotion through me.

"Stay with Silas—and me. At least until things calm down here. There will be a lot of stuff to do over the next few days."

"I can't watch them bury my friends," I whispered. "I can't."

"Shrimp—"

"Mommy!" Silas jumped off the floor, launching himself at me. We both burst into tears when his arms wrapped around me, and I held him tightly. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I told him, before kissing the top of his head and both of his cheeks. "Are _you_ okay?"

He nodded, wiping at his tear-and-snot-covered face. "Happy and Carla locked the doors, and didn't let anyone in until the fight was over."

"Aye!" Happy added. "The kids were in good hands, Levy."

"What happened upstairs?" Carla asked. "Master didn't tell us anything other than to keep the children down here until he came to get us."

"We'll talk about it later," Gajeel answered, grimly.

"He's angry now," Silas whispered. "He says he's going to come again—with an even bigger army next time."

I held him close, saying nothing. _Astaroth, you bastard. I don't care how large of an army you build. I'll take down every single one of them, and then I'm going to kill you._

**_~Gajeel~_**

Telling Silas about Lily had been one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do. Levy had held him while he sobbed, trying her best to stay strong for him—and I tried to do the same. After the chaos had died down that night, I had gone back to the infirmary to see my friend. To say goodbye.

Now, as I stood in front of the five new graves outside of Fairy Tail, my chest was heavy. The fight had happened three days ago, but it still felt as though it were raging on. My mind was as jumbled as it had been during battle, and I had been on edge, restless, since then. Silas had been sleeping in the bed with Levy and me, too. Although Astaroth was injured, I wasn't going to chance leaving him alone.

"We'll have to clean out the attic eventually," Levy said, holding onto a crying Silas.

_Lily's attic._ I knew that we couldn't leave it how it was forever, but I couldn't bring myself to go up there. Not yet. Not until we had killed Astaroth.

"It's all my fault," Silas cried, wiping his face on his sleeve. "I should have gone with him. Then Lily wouldn't have—"

"Don't say another word," Levy warned, frowning down at him. "Blaming yourself isn't going to make those we've lost happy. They died so you could live, so treasure that life, don't feel guilty about it." Her face softened as she kissed him on the top of the head. "Smile for them all, so they can go in peace."

Silas nodded, putting on a brave face and trying to smile. Levy was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. Since the battle, nothing had, really. She had seemed just as empty as our fallen comrades.

I had convinced her to wait and rest before going after Astaroth, but I knew that wouldn't last much longer. The fury burned in her eyes all the time, and eventually it was going to boil over. _I just hope she doesn't run off after him alone when it does._

"Gajeel," Master Makarov said, emerging from the building, "there is a call for you."

"Will you two be alright?" I asked, looking at Levy.

She offered me her hollow smile, nodding. "Go on."

I followed the old man to his office, picking up the phone with an irritated growl. "What?"

"Gajeel." It was Doranbolt. And he didn't sound too pleased.

"What happened?" I asked, knowing it couldn't be good if he was calling me _now_.

"It's Astaroth. He's made an appearance again."

My muscles tensed, and I clutched the phone a little tighter. "Where?"

"Outside of Crocus. He was spotted with a group of Shadow Dwellers."

"Damn. Was he still injured?"

"My sources didn't mention anything. Gajeel," he went on, before I could ask him anymore questions, "the council is getting restless. With the news that Pantherlily was killed, many of them are questioning your leadership. You should consider coming to Era to straighten things out."

"I don't have time for that. Let them do what they want. I'm resigning from the council as soon as this mess is over, anyways. I don't care what they do."

"Go." It was Levy's voice.

I turned, still holding the phone to my ear. "Levy, I can't—"

"If there's trouble with the council, go settle it," she told me, sternly. "I assume they saw Astaroth, right? And everyone's panicking again?" I nodded, sighing. "Then go. Gajeel, you're the head of the Hunters' Council. They need you right now, so you need to do what you can to ease everyone's worries."

"Gajeel, are you there?" Doranbolt asked.

"Yeah," I said into the phone. "I'm on my way."

"I'll make arrangements."

I hung up the phone and frowned at Levy. "Why are you so eager to get rid of me?"

It was her turn to frown. "Gajeel, you're the head of the Hunters' Council. You have duties—ones that take precedence over what's going on here. The funerals are over, so they'll expect you to return to Era soon anyways, right? Instead of staying here where everyone is mourning, go do something to help take Astaroth down. If we can get even a little closer to figuring out where he ran off to, then we can find and kill him."

"They know where he is," I said. "He was spotted outside Crocus, apparently."

"Why would he be in Crocus?" She asked, her eyebrows coming down in the middle as she frowned, deep in thought.

"Who knows," I shrugged.

"Well, that's even more reason to go to Era and see what they know."

"I can't leave you and Silas," I said. "The last time I left, Droy was shot and Astaroth attacked Fairy Tail."

"If he's in Crocus, he can't attack Fairy Tail," she pointed out.

I sighed, frustrated. "You really think I should go?"

She nodded, smiling—the hollow one that didn't reach her eyes. "We'll be fine. We'll even stay here at Fairy Tail until you get back."

"Promise?"

Levy lifted herself up on her tiptoes, kissing me softly on the cheek. "Promise. Now go."

Before leaving, I followed Levy to where Silas sat with Layla so I could tell him goodbye. "Will you be gone long?" He asked, hugging me tightly.

"No," I promised. "I'll be back before dinner tonight. Think you can hold down the fort for me until then?"

"I'll do my best!" He proclaimed, a determined look on his face.

"Gihi," I chuckled, patting him on the top of the head. "See ya in a few hours." He gave me one last hug as I was leaving, and I kissed Levy again, hating that I was leaving her again. _It's only for a few hours. Maybe Doranbolt's sources found some useful information on Astaroth._

"Want me to go along, too?" Natsu asked, catching me just outside the doors.

I shook my head. "Stay here, just in case anything happens. We'll be alright without you. It's my ass they're all itching to chew out, anyways," I added, bitterly.

He chuckled, patting me on the back. "That's what you get for over-throwing the old council and getting yourself elected as the new leader."

"Remind me never to do something that stupid again," I smirked.

He snorted. "Like you'd let me stop you."

"True. Your dumb ass would be right beside me."

"You're damn right!" He laughed.

"Take care of Levy and Silas for me. I'll be back soon."

He nodded. "Don't take too long, metal head."

**_~Silas~_**

"Silas," Layla said, grabbing my hand, "let's go eat lunch with mommy and Auntie Levy."

I shook my head, pulling my hand from her grasp. "I'm not hungry."

She frowned at me. "You haven't eaten that much since the big fight, so I know you're hungry."

"I'm not," I snapped.

Making a sound of frustration, she hit me on the chest. "Listen up! I know you're sad about Lily and the others—I am too—but you can't starve yourself. They wouldn't want that. Now, come and eat—"

"I wish everyone would stop saying they wouldn't want that! They're dead!" I shouted, getting the attention of both of our mothers and several of the other hunters. "We can't bring them back. Astaroth came after me, and now they're dead. And all I could do…all I could do was hide in the basement."

Instead of getting angry at me for yelling at her, Layla wrapped her tiny arms around me, holding me tightly. "We aren't hunters like our parents yet, so there wasn't anything you could have done." She pulled away, smiling sadly at me. "Sure, the others might be alive right now if you had gone, but you would be dead. And so would Auntie Levy. And then Astaroth would have eventually come right back here and killed a whole lot more than five people."

I knew what she said was true, but I was still mad at myself. As I stared at her brown eyes, Astaroth's voice kept tugging at me. _She's next. Soon._

**_~Levy~_**

I watched in awe as Lucy's daughter scolded my son. Then, after she was finished, she dragged him back to the table and ordered him something to eat. Lucy giggled, rolling her eyes. "Layla is so much like Natsu it's ridiculous."

"I don't know," I smiled, watching how the small girl made sure Silas was eating his food, "I think she's a lot like you."

"They're _not_ getting married," Natsu interjected, sulking as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Lucy smacked him on the back of the head. "At least she isn't determined to marry Gray, like Nashi."

"That's _definitely_ not happening," he frowned.

I giggled. "We should all take Layla's advice and get something to eat."

On cue, Natsu's stomach growled loudly. "I agree," he nodded, racing off to find Mirajane.

We joined our children, trying to be as cheerful as we could. Silas was incredibly quiet, though, only speaking when someone asked him a question directly. Even Layla had a difficult time getting him to warm up.

My heart broke as I watched him. _If we hadn't come back here, would things have still turned out like this?_ I sighed to myself, _most likely_. Astaroth's soul inside of Silas—and part of it inside me—would have made living just a normal life impossible. The six years that we were away from demons and demon hunters had all been a lie, just a façade Astaroth let us believe.

"Silas, let's go play," Layla encouraged, pulling him towards the other children. He looked reluctant, but complied and went with her.

"He'll be alright, Levy." Lucy put her hand on my shoulder, smiling softly.

"I know, Lu-chan," I sighed, "I'm just worried. Astaroth was controlling him somewhat before, right, so what if he does it again? He could lead Silas straight to him. And then what?"

"He'd have to get him out of Fairy Tail, first," Lucy told me. "And that's not going to happen."

"You're right." I couldn't shake the bad feeling I had, though.

**_~Silas~_**

"Where are you going?" Natsu frowned, stepping in front of me as I walked towards the mended doors leading outside.

"I'm taking some kiwi to Lily," I answered, quietly.

His face fell a little at my answer, and he nodded. "I'll go with you."

"No," I shook my head. "I want to go by myself."

"Can't let ya do that, kid," he answered, shaking his head. "It's too dangerous to let you go alone. I'll sit over here by the doors though, alright?"

I nodded, going with him outside. He sat down by the doors as I continued to the side of the building, where the graves were. I sat in front of Lily's, pulling a kiwi out of the small bag I had. Focusing, I coated my hand in iron scales, then cut up the fruit. On any other occasion, I would have been proud of the use of my dragon-slayer abilities, but not today. I didn't much care about anything, not after watching so many good people being buried, and watching even more people crying over them.

"I thought you might be hungry," I mumbled, laying the kiwi neatly against the headstone. "I saved this one for you from dinner." I pulled my knees to my chest as I sat there, staring down at the kiwi, occasionally flicking away an ant that wandered too close.

_Foolish cat,_ the voice in my head mocked.

I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut, willing it to go away. The voice used to be one I liked. Marley was kind, but this Astaroth was not.

_He barely put up a fight at all,_ he continued. _Pathetic creature._

"Please stop," I whispered.

_The girl will be next; the little blonde one who is so fond of you. You think she has such pretty eyes, so I think I'll start by blinding her. Then perhaps I'll crush her to death. It will be slow, painful. You'll get to see just how much suffering you caused her by defying me._

"SHUT UP!" I screamed, jumping to my feet. My breathing was ragged, and my eyes were filled with angry tears.

"What happened?" Natsu rushed to me, looking around.

"N-Nothing," I lied, shaking my head. "Sorry."

He frowned, not believing me. "Let's get back inside."

"Okay." I glanced back at Lily's grave before following him inside.

Astaroth's chuckle echoed inside my head. _I've thought of a more fun way to play with the girl. Would you like to know?_

"No," I grumbled under my breath. Again, Astaroth chuckled.


	18. 17: Tricked

**_~Levy~_**

I tapped my fingers impatiently on the table, unable to focus on the book laying before me. Lucy and I had retrieved several books from Fairy Tail's archives that may contain useful information for separating Silas and Astaroth's souls. If only I could focus enough to read any of them…

"He's late," I said.

"I'm sure he's on his way," Lucy said, glancing up from her book only briefly.

"He said he'd be back by dinner. That was three hours ago. It's nearly dark."

"The other council members were probably giving him a hard time," she told me. "He'll be back as soon as he's finished."

"Smoothing things over shouldn't take this long."

"You said they were talking about Astaroth, right?" Lucy asked. When I nodded, she continued, "then there's your answer. Astaroth has everyone spooked—especially now that everyone knows what happened here at Fairy Tail. So, Gajeel not only had to smooth things over with the other council members, he had to reassure the other organizations that Astaroth wouldn't come after them like he did us."

"Yeah, because what he wants is Silas and me," I sighed.

She gave my back a reassuring pat. "Well, he isn't going to get you. Natsu, the girls, and I are even going to stay here with you until Gajeel gets back."

"You know you don't have to."

She smiled. "I know, but I don't mind. The girls are excited that they get to have another sleepover, anyways."

"Layla has really gotten Silas to cheer up this evening," I commented, looking at the group of children. Mira's son and Erza's daughter had joined the group, and they were all playing some sort of tag game. Silas was smiling again, and he appeared to be having a good time. _I'm glad._ I wasn't sure how much more of his sad face my heart would be able to take, especially knowing there was nothing I could do to ease his pain.

"When we're in-laws, we have to have picnics together with our grandchildren," Lucy mused, smirking.

"I'm hoping for blonde hair and red eyes," I nodded. "A girl. Wouldn't that be cute?"

"Maybe the blue hair will slip in there," she giggled, "and brown eyes."

"We're getting old, Lu-chan," I groaned.

She laughed, shaking her head. "You're not old until you think you are," she winked. "And I refuse to think I'm getting old. Especially since I'm preg—oops." She cut off with a small gasp, covering her mouth with her hand.

I gasped, sitting up to stare at her with wide eyes. "You're what?!"

"Sh!" She snapped, looking around. "I haven't told Natsu yet. With everything that happened, I didn't think it was the right time. I was going to wait until after things settled down a bit."

"When did you find out?" I asked.

"Right before the battle," she sighed. "Things got crazy after that, and I didn't get the chance to tell Natsu."

"Tell Natsu what?" Natsu asked, approaching our table.

"Nothing," Lucy said, shaking her head.

He frowned, shrugging. "Whatever you say. The others are all going to be heading home soon. Should I call Era, see if I can reach Gajeel?"

"I will," I said. I turned to Lucy after glancing at Silas. "Lu-chan, would you mind keeping an eye on him for a few minutes while I call Gajeel?"

"Sure," she nodded.

I went to Master's office, dialing the number Gajeel had left that belonged to his office phone. When no one answered, I hung up and tried two more times. _Still nothing._ I hoped that meant Gajeel was on his way back to Fairy Tail. _If he hasn't shown up in a couple of hours, I'll call again._

"He's not answering," I sighed, returning to the main room.

"Who?"

I gasped, spotting a smirking Gajeel sitting beside Lucy. "When did you get here?" I asked.

"Just now," he grinned. "Lucy told me you were tryin' ta call. I got held up a little later than I thought. Sorry."

"No," I smiled, shaking my head, "don't be. I'm just glad you're safe. I was starting to get worried."

"I have some good news about Astaroth," he said.

"What is it?" I sat across from him, listening intently. Lucy and Natsu were also listening now.

"Apparently, Astaroth is still injured. His wound is healed, but Doranbolt's sources said something seemed off about him. He was acting weak, and looked like he was in pain or something."

"It's his soul," I told them. "He only has a little piece of it—the piece he took out of me—so there isn't much of him in Darrick's body. If we're lucky, Darrick is in there fighting against Astaroth's control, and that's why he seems weaker."

"That's also a bad thing," Lucy added. "If that really is the case, then he's going to be even more desperate to get to Silas."

"We'll just have to monitor him more closely," Natsu said.

"That's what we've been doing," Gajeel frowned.

"What else did the sources say? Did Astaroth appear to be going somewhere?" I asked.

Gajeel shook his head. "They just said he was spotted in Crocus with a group of Shadow Dwellers. From the details they gave us, he was heading away from Fairy Tail. Maybe to continue building up a new army of followers."

"From what I've heard, a lot of his old followers bolted after the battle. And even more abandoned him once they found out how badly you and Levy had wounded him," Natsu smirked, "I don't think he's going to be getting a lot of support anytime soon."

"And it will be harder to control a large group of Shadow Dwellers like he did before, now that he's weak," Lucy said.

"We should go after him," I said, causing everyone to look at me.

"Shrimp—" Gajeel began, but I cut him off.

"We need to get to him before he can rebuild his army—while he's still weak. If we strike first we'll have an advantage."

"If he's in Crocus right now, he'll be gone before we can get there," Gajeel told me.

"Maybe," I said, "but maybe not. We can't let this opportunity pass. What if he goes into hiding again?"

"He can't afford to," Lucy stated, "he's too weak. He'll have to make a move soon."

"Which is why we need to act now."

"And who would go?" Gajeel frowned. "We can't take Silas, but we can't leave him here, either."

"I'll go." Bisca's face was serious as she approached our table. "I want to get him back. For Alzack."

"We're going, too." It was Evergreen now, followed by Bixlow. They were both heavily bandaged, but they looked dead-set on going.

"Listen up," Gajeel growled, "ain't no one goin' anywhere. We never said we were going, so don't get ahead of yourselves."

"If Astaroth is in Crocus, I'm going after him," Evergreen snapped. "Laxus is already on his way, so you can't stop me."

"Same," Bixlow nodded, following Ever as she headed for the door.

"Damn it," Gajeel cursed, running a hand through his hair. "This is a mess."

"I'll stay here with Silas," I said, meeting Gajeel's eyes. "Go with them. Get some help from the council, and go after Astaroth. Even if Darrick is still in there, there isn't time to wait around. Killing Astaroth is our top priority."

"I just got back," he frowned. "I'm not leaving again—"

"Then you stay here with Silas," I snapped. "One of us has to go after him, Gajeel! It's _our_ son he's after, so one of us should be there to take that bastard down!"

"No way," he told me, shaking his head. "I ain't about to send you after Astaroth. Not alone."

"The last train leaves in ten minutes," Bisca said, heading towards the door.

"I'm going, too," Natsu suddenly said. "That bastard threatened my daughter, so I'm going to burn him to a crisp."

"Then I'll go with you," Happy said, flying over.

Natsu shook his head, grinning at the Exceed. "Not this time. I'm gonna need someone here to look after Lucy and the girls for me. Think I can count on you, little buddy?"

"Aye!" Happy shouted.

"Good," Natsu nodded. He kissed Lucy, told her he loved her, and then hugged his daughters before leaving after the others.

"So?" I frowned, looking at Gajeel.

"I don't really have a choice," he sighed. "I ain't gonna let them kill him before I can."

"Good." I tugged on the front of his shirt, pulling him down until our lips met. I kissed him firmly, and he returned it, silently promising he would return to Silas and me. "Be safe," I whispered. He nodded, telling Silas goodbye and following Natsu.

"Now we wait," Lucy sighed, sitting down.

"Master is going to be furious when he gets back tomorrow and everyone left without telling him," Mira said, setting glasses of water in front of Lucy and me.

"Laxus started it," I teased.

She sighed. "I made him promise to rip Astaroth to pieces, since he insisted on leaving. If they do find him, I just hope they're all careful. They are angry, and Astaroth knows that. He'll use their anger against them."

"They've all been hunters for years," Lucy smiled, patting Mira's hand, "they'll be careful."

I stared down at my red mark, rubbing it gently with my other hand. _I know they are incredibly strong, and I don't doubt they'll be able to kill Astaroth, so why do I have this bad feeling deep in the pit of my stomach?_

**_~Gajeel~_**

"This is a bad idea," I groaned, leaning against the window of the train. The sun was beginning to shine in through the window, somehow making my nausea even worse. We were only a few minutes from Crocus, having ridden the train all night, so I kept counting down until I could finally get off the damned thing.

"Not if we can take down Astaroth," Ever said. Laxus and Natsu were in the same state as me—barely conscious thanks to motion sickness.

"If he's still in Crocus," I managed, trying not to focus on the cartwheels my stomach was doing.

"If he isn't, we'll just go wherever he's spotted next," Bisca said, determined. "We'll catch up to him eventually."

Before I could answer, the train came to a stop. Laxus, Natsu, and I bolted from the train, catching our breath. "Do you smell that?" Natsu asked, suddenly, perking up.

I inhaled through my nose, frowning after I recognized the scent. "Half-demon," I said.

"It smells like Darrick," Laxus added. "Isn't that whose body Astaroth is using now?"

I nodded. "That means he's close."

"Then let's go," Bisca said. "Lead the way."

The three of us took off towards the outskirts of town, the others following close behind. _Astaroth, we're coming for you._

We ran for nearly an hour before finally stopping. "What the hell?" Natsu frowned, taking a deep breath. "It smells just as far away as it did before."

"I noticed that too," Laxus sighed. "Something isn't right about it."

"Damn it," I snapped. "What the hell is going on?!"

"I—"

I heard something whirring through the trees around us, and I gasped, grabbing Bisca. "Get down!" I managed to pull her out of the way right before a dagger planted itself into the trunk of a tree—right at the level Bisca's head had been.

"It was a trap!" Laxus growled.

"Sneaky bastards!" I turned my arm into my iron dragon's sword, listening for another attack. All at once, several demons jumped from the trees, attacking us.

I grabbed one by the throat when he tried to stab me, and slammed him to the ground. "Where is Astaroth?" I snarled. He merely laughed, striking out again. Cursing, I ran my sword through him, moving on to the next demon. Six demons later, I still hadn't learned anything about Astaroth's whereabouts.

After Ever dispatched the last demon, we all looked at each other. "Anything?" Natsu asked.

I shook my head, and grew even more frustrated when everyone else did as well. "Where the hell is that bastard hiding?!"

"I don't hide." We all tensed at the sound of Darrick—no, Astaroth's—voice.

"There you are," I growled, not waiting for him to come into view before attacking. When my sword made contact, going completely through his middle, I frowned. _That was too easy._

Astaroth's form began shifting underneath me as he laughed. When it stopped, there was nothing more than an ordinary demon there, skewered by my arm. "Lord Astaroth never hides," he chuckled, blood leaking from his open mouth, "he simply outsmarts you."

"Where is he?!"

"You'll never find him," the demon smirked.

"Damn it!" I ripped my arm from the demon, returning it to normal. It was covered in blood, and I was furious that it wasn't Astaroth's.

"What just happened?" Natsu asked, staring between the now-dead demon and me.

"That demon took Astaroth's form, and Astaroth must have done something to give the demon his scent. It was never him Doranbolt's informant saw—it was the fake. The real Astaroth is still in hiding somewhere."

"Who was the informant?" Laxus asked.

I frowned, trying to remember. "He never said who it was, actually."

"We need to go to Era," Laxus said, turning and heading towards the train station.

"Why?" I frowned, following him as the others kept pace behind me.

"I don't think that informant is who he says he is."

"Damn," I snapped, understanding what he meant. _It was Astaroth in disguise. He led us right into this trap, knowing a group of us would go. He played us like a bunch of damned fools!_

"Does that mean Astaroth is in Era?" Natsu asked.

I nodded. "And we've wasted four hours already on the train and running around Crocus."

"It will take us another hour to get to Era," Bisca sighed.

"Damn," I said, again.

"What if he's planning to finish what he started last time?" Ever frowned.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He took out the special forces unit, and half of the king's army, right? What if he's going back to Era for the council members? I mean, he knows they're all freaking out, so now would be a good time to strike. And since Lily just died, he knows there isn't really anyone there to organize protection. The council is vulnerable."

"This is bad," Natsu frowned as we got on the train. _If Ever's right, we're in trouble._

**_~Silas~_**

"Silas, what's wrong?" Layla frowned, crouching down in front of where I was sitting against the wall. Her sisters were playing with Aiden, us five the only children remaining. Everyone else had gone home the previous night, and hadn't returned yet because it was too early. We had all just woken up a few minutes ago, and Lucy, Carla, and Happy had gone to the kitchen to fix us something for breakfast while mom watched us.

"Aren't you scared?" I asked her. "Astaroth is still out there, and our dads just went after him. They could get hurt."

"Daddy will be fine," she smiled. "He's a dragon slayer—just like uncle Gajeel. And just like us. They won't let someone as weak as Astaroth hurt them."

"You don't know how strong he is!" I snapped, shoving her away from me as I got to my feet.

_"It isn't the girl's fault she's a fool,"_ Astaroth chuckled in my head. _"She doesn't know any better. She's always here where it's safe. She wasn't the one who was kidnapped. She isn't the one in danger. She knows nothing of fear." _

_Shut up_, I pleaded, trying to ignore the voice. Ever since the attack on Fairy Tail, his voice had been getting louder in my head. Sometimes it was the only thing I could hear. I had kept it a secret from mom because I didn't want her to worry, but I wasn't sure what to do anymore.

_"If you go to your mother, I will kill Layla slowly,_" Astaroth warned, knowing what I was going to do. _"I might let her go. _If_ you cooperate."_

_You're lying._

_"Probably,"_ Astaroth chuckled. I knew he was lying, but something stopped me from going to mom. Instead. I wandered towards the front doors, wanting to see Lily.

"Silas." Mom was suddenly in front of me, frowning. "Where are you going?"

"To see Lily," I told her, honestly.

"You know you can't go alone," she said, softly. "I'll go with you."

"Okay," I nodded.

"I want to go, too!" Layla called, running over to us. Despite how I had treated her just a few moments before, she smiled and took my hand, following after mom.

"Could you wait here?" I asked, looking up at my mother once we got outside. She smiled, agreeing, and reassured me that she would be right by the doors if we needed her.

"Why didn't you want her to come?" Layla asked, still holding my hand as we walked to the edge of the building where the graves were.

"She looks really sad every time she thinks about Lily," I told her. "I don't want her to be sad, so I didn't want her to come over here."

"You're so sweet," she giggled.

"Sh-shut up," I grumbled, blushing.

She continued giggling as we sat down in front of Lily's grave. After a few moments, she quieted, and we sat in silence for a long time. "You know," she said, "when all of this is over, and Astaroth is dead, I'm going to have daddy teach me how to use my magic. Then I can get strong and become a demon hunter, just like him."

"I don't want to become a hunter," I murmured, quietly.

She looked at me, startled. "Why not? Uncle Gajeel and Auntie Levy are both really strong hunters, so don't you want to be like them?"

"It was better before we came here," I admitted. Sure, I loved all the new people I had met, and I loved seeing how happy mom looked when she was with dad, but I also missed the quiet life we'd had before. If being a demon hunter meant putting your loved ones in danger, I wanted no part of it.

"Are you saying you want to leave Fairy Tail?" She asked, sadly.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Maybe."

I looked at her when I heard a small sniff, and my eyes widened when I spotted the tears in her eyes. "So, you want to leave me, too?" She asked. "I thought…I thought we were friends. I thought you liked me, too."

"We are friends," I told her, "but if you want to become a strong hunter like your parents, then I'm not going to stop you. I just don't want to become one. I don't want to see my friends get hurt."

"You're an idiot," she huffed, getting to her feet.

I gaped at her, wondering why she was so mad. "What?"

"I know that you don't want to see your friends get hurt, but shouldn't you want to become stronger so you can protect them? Instead of running away because you're afraid, you should fight!"

I stood, frowning at her. "I _am_ afraid," I told her. "I didn't grow up in an organization like you. And you're not the one with a demon inside of you, telling you all kinds of bad things!"

_"She doesn't understand anything. Foolish girl. She's calling you weak, mocking you for wanting to run away, but she isn't the one in danger. She isn't the one who is going to die."_

Astaroth's words echoed in my head. I tried ignoring them, but he was too loud, his words too persistent. _"She thinks you're weak. She is mocking your fear. She doesn't understand anything."_

"Silas," Layla said, reaching out to me, "I'm sor—"

"Shut up!" I shouted, covering my ears. _Please, shut up. It isn't her fault. She's my friend._

More tears filled her eyes, thinking I was yelling at her. "I was only trying to help!" She cried, punching me before running around the building.

The strike cleared my mind, sending Astaroth away as he chuckled darkly. "Wait, Layla!" I called, running after her. I could faintly hear mom calling after us as we ran into the forest, but I ignored her, telling myself I had to catch up to Layla. _I can't let her go off alone. _A sudden scream from ahead had me running faster.

"Silas!" Layla cried out as I reached her. She was in the arms of a large demon with orange skin. Its red hair hung down its back, and two large black horns stuck out of the top of its head. When its red eyes turned to me, it grinned, exposing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"The little dragon slayer has come to the girl's rescue," it snickered, its voice sending shivers through my body.

"Let her go!" I shouted, trying to muster up some courage. _Don't be a coward, Silas. You are a dragon slayer. Layla is in trouble, so help her!_

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the demon grinned. "I have orders to take her to Lord Astaroth. Now, be a good little boy and come along. Lord Astaroth is tired of waiting."

"No."

_"Go with him. You don't want to make things worse for the girl, do you?"_ My legs seemed to move on their own as Astaroth spoke into my head. _It's just like before,_ I thought. He had controlled me once before, trying to get me to go with him. Apparently he could do that because of his soul inside me. He had done the same with mom, leading her into the forest where Darrick and I had been kept.

"Silas!" It was mom this time. She came into view just as the demon grabbed me.

"Too late," the demon sneered. It took a deep breath, releasing fire when it exhaled.

"Damn it!" I heard her curse as a wall of flames separated us. The demon took off, ignoring our struggling.

"Auntie Levy!" Layla shrieked, kicking and punching the demon as hard as she could. I tried my hardest as well, but the demon didn't seem affected at all.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Layla shouted, sending flames into the demon's face.

It chuckled, smirking at her. "I am a fire demon, stupid girl. Your weak flames won't work on me."

"When my daddy gets here, he's gonna show you what real fire feels like!" She shouted, unfazed. "He's gonna burn you to a crisp! And then he's gonna burn up that stupid Astaroth, too!"

"Is he?" We came to a stop in a small clearing, and Astaroth stepped forward, smirking. "Quite the feisty little thing, isn't she?" He chuckled, looking at me.

"Shut up!" She snapped.

The fire demon threw us to the ground, and I immediately jumped to my feet, standing between Astaroth and Layla.

"No need to act brave now," Astaroth smiled. "Neither one of you will be leaving this forest."

"Layla has nothing to do with this," I frowned.

"But she does," Astaroth sighed, coming towards us. "You kept me waiting, so I promised to kill her. You didn't want to know when I told you I had thought of a fun way to do it. Would you like to know now?"

"No," I snapped.

"That's too bad. It will be so much fun." Before I could respond, Astaroth kicked me out of the way, grabbing Layla by the throat.


	19. 18: Sacrifices

**_~Levy~_**

"Damn it!" I cursed, jumping back to avoid the demon's flames. They encircled me, making it impossible for me to follow after them. "I don't have time for this!" I snapped, searching for a way out. _I have to save Silas and Layla! Damn it! I should have been watching them more closely!_ It had all happened so fast. Layla had yelled at Silas, he had yelled back, and then she had taken off with him going after her. I'd had a bad feeling since the night before, but I hadn't listened to it.

As the circle of flames around me grew smaller, I made a decision. _Through._ That was my only option. Taking a deep breath, I ran and jumped as high as I could, hoping to avoid most of the flames. They licked at my legs as I jumped through them, but luckily didn't leave any serious burns. Not wasting any time as my feet touched the ground once more, I continued running.

I heard a scream from up ahead, and recognized it as Layla. A few seconds later came another scream, this time from Silas. Ignoring the pain beginning to course through my legs from the burns, I ran faster, finally coming upon them in a small clearing. The same one we had gone to before. The one where we thought Astaroth died six years ago.

"Silas!" I shouted, watching as he charged Astaroth, only to be smacked away. Astaroth was holding onto Layla, and the girl was struggling against his grip on her throat.

"Darrick!" I called, getting his attention. He smiled, the wicked grin stretching across his face.

"So kind of you to join us, Levy," he said, casually. "You're still getting my name wrong, I see."

"I know he's still in there, fighting you," I snapped. "And I know you're still weak from that attack Gajeel hit you with. That's why you're so desperate."

"Perhaps," he nodded, sounding bored, "but that will all change in a few moments. You see, once I kill this girl as punishment, I will extract my soul from Silas and he will also be dead. Then, my dear Levy McGarden, I will kill your precious Dragon Slayer, leaving you with nothing. I will take the lives of everyone you hold dear. Only after that, will I consider killing you as well. You will be begging me to take your life by the time I am through." He paused, smiling at me. "Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Auntie Levy!" Layla gasped, choking against Astaroth's tightening grip.

"Layla!" The voice came from behind me, and a figure quickly shot passed me.

"Lucy!" I gasped, watching as she swung her whip, wrapping it around Astaroth's wrist.

"Let go of my daughter!" She shouted, pulling on the whip hard enough to rip his hand off.

He released Layla before it did, jerking his hand from the whip. Immediately, the girl ran to her mother, tears filling her eyes. "Mommy!" She wailed, hugging Lucy tightly.

"How did you know—" I began, but she cut me off with a smile.

"I heard you call their names, and knew immediately something was wrong. Here, I grabbed this for you." Lucy tossed one of my special guns to me, and I thanked her. I hadn't had time to get one earlier when I had gone after the two of them.

"This is all very heartwarming," Astaroth frowned, "but I'm afraid I don't have time for this. As I'm sure you're aware, I'm on a…_limited_…time schedule, so I'll need to resolve this quickly."

I ran to Silas, standing in front of him and raising my gun. "Go to hell."

"Not without you to keep me company, _Sunshine_," he growled, snapping his fingers. The fire demon leapt forward, attacking again with his flames. I grabbed Silas and pulled him away from the flames, raising my gun to shoot him when he seemed to disappear.

"What the—Ah!" A foot met my gut, sending me rolling across the clearing.

"Mom!" Silas gasped, trying to run to me when the fire demon grabbed him.

"Layla, stay here," Lucy instructed, leaving her daughter by the trees as she ran to help Silas. I jumped to my feet, joining her.

_I only have one gun, so I only have six bullets. Only six chances to kill Astaroth. _I couldn't waste any of them. Luckily, I always kept a dagger in my boot. _That should be more than enough to take out this nuisance._

"Lucy, think you can immobilize him?" I asked.

She nodded, readying her whip. "I _know_ I can. Natsu bought me this whip," she smirked, looking at me, "it's fireproof."

"Great," I grinned. "Just say the word once he's good and tied up, then I'll finish it."

Again, she nodded, running ahead and striking with her whip. It wrapped around the demon's legs, and she gave it a hard tug, pulling his feet out from under him. "Now!" She shouted as Silas rushed away, getting out of the demon's reach. I rushed forward, bringing my knife down hard into the demon's skull. It let out a shrill cry before falling still, slowly turning to dust.

"You've still got it," Lucy teased, "even for an old lady."

"Yes, I suppose she does, doesn't she?" Astaroth's chuckle brought us back to the fight still awaiting us, wiping the smiles from our faces as soon as our eyes landed on him. He held a struggling Layla by the hair, a wicked smile parting his lips. "But I'm afraid you're still too late."

"NO!" Lucy screamed, shooting forward with me close on her heels, as Astaroth's clawed hand came down—aimed directly at Layla's heart.

**_~Gajeel~_**

"About damned time!" I growled, running off the train. I was still light-headed and dizzy, but I ignored it and continued running towards the council building. If our suspicions had been correct, Astaroth was here in Era, and the council members were in danger.

"Councilman Redfox, Councilman Dragneel," the guard greeted us as we ran up the steps. "What—"

"Call on the other council members. Have them meet me in the conference room. _Now_." He looked hesitantly at the group behind me, but nodded and did as I said. Visitors weren't permitted into the building without clearance first, but there wasn't time for that, so I informed the guards that stopped them at the doors that they were with me, and that we would sort it out later. They looked like they were going to argue, but a challenging look from Natsu and me, and they were immediately silenced.

"No wonder you're loaded now," Ever smirked, looking around, "this place is magnificent."

"That doesn't matter," I said, gruffly, leading them to the conference room. The other council members were already beginning to arrive, all with questioning looks on their faces.

"I thought you were on your way to Crocus?" Doranbolt asked, frowning at our group.

"Who was your informant?" I ignored his question, asking one of my own.

"Why does that ma—"

"Answer the damn question, Doranbolt!" I snapped, slamming my hands down on the table. The room went quiet, everyone watching us now.

"His name is Raz."

"Is he your usual informant?"

"What is all of this about?" Laharl, the fifth seat—under Doranbolt's fourth—asked.

"We don't think that informant is who he says he is," Laxus spoke up. "We were led into a trap in Crocus. That was just a demon disguised as Astaroth. We believe the real Astaroth is here in Era, and intends to finish what he started a few days ago."

Had it really only been a few days that Darrick had been taken over by Astaroth? It seemed unreal. After Astaroth had come out in the open again, things had been moving in fast-forward and slow motion all at once, and it was hard to keep track of how much time had actually passed.

"Was Raz acting strange when you met up with him?" Natsu asked.

"We never met up," Doranbolt frowned. "We spoke over the phone. He called, claiming it was urgent, then told me about Astaroth."

"Damn it," I growled.

"You're saying it was never him I spoke with?"

I shook my head. "We thought, if he had met you here, that he had come to kill the rest of the council members. But that doesn't seem to be the case."

"That means Astaroth could be anywhere," Ever stated.

"No," I said, already heading for the door, "not anywhere. Just one place."

"The one we've left completely unguarded," Natsu cursed, following me.

"Damn it!" I snapped again.

"Councilman Redfox!" Pearl shouted, running down the hallway with a cordless phone in her hands.

"I don't have time to take phone calls right now!" I snarled, pushing passed her as we made our way to the exit.

"It's Master Makarov from Fairy Tail," she said, her voice full of urgency. "Sir, he sounded upset. Said it was about your son."

I froze, thousands of possibilities going through my head. I knew, however, exactly what I was about it hear. Slowly, I took the phone and lifted it to my ear, taking a deep breath. "Master."

His next words melted my frozen muscles, and I was running again. "Gajeel, I'm sorry." I ran faster, his words ringing in my head as I jumped onto a train that was already leaving, not waiting for the next one or bothering with a ticket. Over and over they repeated, until all I could hear were those words. Those final, terrifying words.

"Silas…Silas doesn't have long."

**_~Levy~_**

Everything seemed to happen like a scene in slow motion. Lucy and I ran towards Astaroth as fast as we could, and I knew we'd never make it in time. Just as Astaroth's hand was about to reach Layla, a blur appeared in front of her. A cry echoed through the clearing, and my heart felt as though it had stopped beating.

Astaroth's hand had gone through Silas's chest, and he looked just as shocked as the rest of us. He dropped Layla to the ground, stumbling back with his hand still inside Silas's chest.

"SILAS!" I didn't know the scream had come from me until Astaroth looked at me, meeting my eyes as a satisfied smile pulled at his lips.

I pulled out my gun, firing three shots at him. With little effort, he dodged all of them. His body was slowly beginning to change, I assumed reverting back to his original form as he pulled his soul from Silas's body.

Silas cried out when Astaroth finally pulled his hand free and threw him to the ground. I rushed to him, pulling him into my arms. "Silas!" I pleaded, fear snaking around my throat, making it difficult to breathe. "Silas, honey, open your eyes!"

"Wonderful," Astaroth sighed, closing his eyes in ecstasy, not even acknowledging us.

"Lucy," I said, looking over at my friend. She was holding Layla, looking at me with tear-filled eyes. "Take Silas to Fairy Tail. Have Carla get Wendy, and send Happy after Porlyusica."

"Right," she nodded. Instructing Layla to hold onto her back, she grabbed Silas, taking off into the trees. _Silas, I'll be there in a few minutes. Stay strong for me until then._

Letting my fury fill me with strength, I lunged at Astaroth, interrupting his moment of pleasure. I brought my dagger down, driving it deep into the arm he used to block me. "You bastard!" I snarled, shooting him in the stomach while I had his arm immobilized.

"It won't work," Astaroth laughed as the bullet was merely crushed against his skin. "I am whole once more, so your bullets will no longer work on me."

Grabbing onto the wrist holding the dagger in his arm, he ripped it free and swung me around, punching me with his free hand. As my head snapped to the side from the force, he kicked me, sending me crashing into a tree.

I struggled to my feet, wiping blood from my mouth as I attempted to catch my breath. _Shit. Those were the strong bullets, too. Now what?_ I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I knew I couldn't let him go. _Astaroth is going to die in this clearing. I don't care what it takes._

I quickly assessed my injuries. A broken rib or two. Some bruised organs. I glanced down, wincing slightly. The burns had been worse than I thought. I'd be off my feet for a few days if I managed to live through this.

"I was going to kill your Dragon Slayer next, but it seems you're determined to die right now," Astaroth frowned, taking a step towards me. _Think, Levy! There has to be a way to kill him!_

Before I could think of a plan, Astaroth let out an annoyed gasp, his hand going to his head as he stopped walking. His shifting appearance suddenly reverted back to Darrick's, and he looked up at me. The red was completely gone from his eyes for a fraction of a second, then were tainted again as his appearance continued shifting. "Le…vy…" he gasped, the voice belonging to Darrick now instead of Astaroth.

My initial reaction was to rush forward. To see if I could help him. But I knew better. Astaroth could be putting on an act, trying to lure me closer so he could kill me. "Stop messing around!" I shouted, raising my gun in warning, even though I knew it would be useless against him.

"Stupid boy!" Astaroth growled, completely ignoring me. He made another pained noise before meeting my eyes. "Levy," the voice was Darrick's again, "shoot now."

"What kind of game are you playing?!" I snapped, not really sure what was happening. _Is that really Darrick? How? If Astaroth's soul is complete, Darrick's should be completely taken over by now._

"He's still vulnerable while shifting back," Darrick gasped. "While I'm in control, you have to shoot me. He can't put up his defenses and the bullet will kill us."

"If you're still in there, I—"

"Do it!" He shouted. "Not much…time."

"Darrick—"

"I'm sorry, about everything," he said, trying to smile, though it turned into a grimace. "I wish I could have explained." He paused, closing his eyes and stumbling until he was leaning against a tree. "Quickly. Shoot."

"I'm sorry, too," I told him, raising my gun. "I wish—"

He tried to smile again. "I know. Promise me one thing."

"Yeah," I nodded, putting my finger on the trigger.

"Have a good life. Little sister."

I pulled the trigger, watching as the bullet flew towards him. This time it didn't crush against his skin like the others. Instead, it broke through, going straight into his heart. He cried out, his eyes turning red as Astaroth took over. I fired the remaining bullet, watching with sad finality as the shot hit its mark. Right between Astaroth's eyes.

An eerie screech left Astaroth as his red eyes locked onto me, knowing it was over for him. _Darrick beat you, you bastard._ He had known he was going to die regardless of the outcome of this battle, so he managed to give me the opportunity I needed to finish it.

I stood my ground as Astaroth ran towards me, his body already beginning to turn to dust. When his hand went around my throat, I barely felt it. "You have not won," he snarled. "There will be others. They will avenge me."

"Go to hell, Astaroth." With a growl, he disappeared. Although I wanted to collapse from exhaustion, I forced myself to turn and run as fast as I could towards Fairy Tail. Wendy should have made it already, and Porlyusica should be arriving soon. _Silas, please be alright!_

Once I got there, I ran straight to the infirmary. "Lucy, how's Silas?" I asked, looking at the blonde. The front of her shirt was soaked with blood, and so were her hands and arms. There were tears in her brown eyes as they met mine, and I had to fight the fear still threatening to strangle me.

Instead, I looked at Wendy. Her hands were also covered in blood, and sweat glistened against her skin. "How is he?" She looked up at me, her expression matching Lucy's.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, a few tears escaping. "I stopped the bleeding, but there isn't much I can do."

"Can't you give him some of my blood? We're the same type, so it will work. Right?"

She exchanged a glance with Lucy, and I knew there was something else they weren't telling me. "What?" I was standing beside the bed now, holding onto my son's cold hand.

"We've already given him blood, but it isn't working," Wendy murmured. "Astaroth's soul was practically bonded to Silas's. When he removed it, it was like removing half of Silas's soul, too."

"What does that mean?" I asked, afraid to know the answer.

"It means, Silas won't be waking up from this," Porlyusica said, entering the infirmary.

I collapsed to my knees, staring at my son's sleeping face as tears made warm tracks down my cheeks. "There must be something you can do," I whispered.

"I've never dealt with anything like this before," the old woman said, grimly. "I'm sorry."

"You have to try," I said, practically begging as I turned to face her. "Please. Anything. Just try _something_!"

Sighing, she approached Silas's bed. "I will see what I can do."

"Thank you."

"I'll need everyone but Wendy to leave," she said. "That includes you too, Levy."

"I'm not leaving him," I told her.

"I can't do what I need to with you in here," she frowned, her tone stern. No matter how I felt, she wasn't going to budge on the matter. If I wanted her help, I would have to leave.

"I'll be right outside the door," I said. She nodded, handing Lucy a roll of bandages, instructing her to wrap up my legs until they were finished.

Once out in the hallway, I collapsed against the wall, sitting on the floor heavily. My entire body ached, and my legs were throbbing. "Porlyusica will find a way to help him," Lucy said, quietly.

"What if she doesn't?" I asked, fighting back tears as I closed my eyes. She was silent as she went to work wrapping my legs. The boots had protected my feet and ankles, but the skin up to my knee hadn't had the same luck. With all of the adrenaline I'd had at the time, I hadn't thought the burns were that bad. _They weren't normal flames, though. A demon produced them, so they were probably hotter than normal flames._

"Lu-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for helping me back there. Honestly, I don't think I could have done it alone."

She smiled, finishing my legs. "It was my daughter out there, too, so I couldn't let you do all the fighting." Her smile faltered, and she leaned against the wall next to me, grabbing my hand. "I'll have to thank Silas when he wakes up. He saved Layla's life."

"They're definitely going to get married," I said, trying to smile.

"He'll get through this."

"Yeah," I nodded.

We sat in the hallway for a long time. Layla came at one point to check on Silas, and Lucy had woven around the truth, trying to reassure her daughter. After a while, Lucy excused herself to check on the rest of her daughters, leaving Layla and me alone by the infirmary doors.

"He's not going to be alright, is he?" She asked, meeting my eyes with her large brown ones.

"I don't know," I confessed, feeling my heart break as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," she cried, hugging me tightly. "It's all my fault! I shouldn't have run off. I'm the one who got us into trouble."

I hugged her back. "Astaroth wanted Silas, so there was nothing anyone could have done to keep him from getting to him. Silas was fighting to protect you, so now you have to stay strong for him, alright?"

She nodded. I smiled as she wiped her face and tried to put on a brave face. "Auntie Levy?" She asked, after a moment of silence.

"Yes?"

"How did you and uncle Gajeel meet?"

I was startled by her question. "Why do you want to know?"

"Talking about something happy will help pass the time, right? And uncle Gajeel would never tell us. He always just said it was a secret."

I chuckled. "We didn't meet under the best of terms," I sighed. "He didn't used to belong to any organization."

"Because some Dragon Slayers didn't used to, right? The old council lied and said they were bad guys."

I nodded. "That's right. Because of this, I was given the task of going after him. I was supposed to convince him to join Fairy Tail."

"Did he?"

"Eventually," I said, not wanting to go into the details of how disastrous our first meeting had gone.

"Then, after he joined Fairy Tail, you fell in love!" She grinned.

"Eventually," I repeated, smiling. "At first he wasn't very happy with me, though."

"Why not?" She asked, frowning.

"The bad men from the old council came to arrest Gajeel, saying he was too dangerous. Knowing he would be killed if they took him, I told them to bond us—then they'd know he wouldn't betray Fairy Tail."

"Mommy told me a little about that." Layla said, excitedly. "She said your lives were connected. You felt each other's pain and emotions, and uncle Gajeel could sense wherever you were."

"That's basically it," I nodded.

"And _then_ you fell in love," she beamed.

"And then we fell in love," I agreed, sighing.

"Layla," Lucy said, coming back down the hallway, "lunch is ready." Layla nodded, kissing me on the cheek before running up the hallway. Lucy turned to me, "you should eat something, too."

"I'm fine," I told her. "I'm going to wait here."

"Want me to bring you something?"

I shook my head. "No, thanks."

"Master called Gajeel," Lucy said. "He finally got ahold of him about an hour ago. He should be here within the next couple of hours."

"Good," I nodded, unable to do much else. Honestly, I hadn't thought about contacting him. I had been so worried about Silas that everything else had been shoved to the back of my mind. I hadn't even told the others that Astaroth was dead, and they hadn't asked. Silas had been everyone's focus.

The door of the infirmary opened, and I shot to my feet, ignoring the pain in them. "So?" I asked Lady Porlyusica as she entered the hallway. The look she gave me nearly sent me back to the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We've completely stopped the bleeding, given him more blood, and tried countless other remedies. Medicine and magic cannot heal a soul."

"What can?" I asked, my voice thick.

"Only Silas can determine whether or not he'll make it through this. We'll know soon, either way."

"What do you mean?"

"A soul that damaged won't last long if he can't mend it himself."

"How long?"

"I don't kn—"

"How long?" I asked again, tears filling my eyes.

"A few hours at the most," she said.

"I see," I whispered, going passed Wendy as she came out of the infirmary. "Thank you for trying," I told them. When Lucy followed me, I shook my head. "I'd like to be alone with him."

"Of course," she nodded, hugging me tightly before leaving with the other two and closing the door. I pulled a chair up to Silas's bed and sat in it, practically collapsing again. If it hadn't been for his injuries, I would have thought he was sleeping.

"Silas," I soothed, grabbing his hand, "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, alright. I love you so much, and so does everyone else here at Fairy Tail. We're all waiting for you to wake up." I laid my head on the bed, still clutching his tiny hand. "You have to wake up."


	20. 19: Bound By Love

**_~Gajeel~_**

As soon as the train came to a stop I was running. My motion sickness hadn't been able to compete with the fear that had wound its way around my entire body.

People knew who I was—I was hard to miss being taller than most people—and rushed out of my way as they saw me running. I was sure the news had reached Magnolia first, so the sad looks people were giving me weren't all that surprising. I didn't pay any attention to them. I just kept running.

When I saw the Fairy Tail flag up ahead, I knew I was finally close to headquarters. My heart was beating so fast that I thought I might have a heart attack before I even got there.

No, I had to be the strong one right now. Even though my throat felt tight, and my eyes stung, I had to keep it together. If what Master had said was true, and Silas only had a few hours left, I had to be strong for Levy. She would need me, so I had to be there.

I didn't slow up as I reached the doors, and threw them open as I ran inside. My red eyes searched the room, looking for the only person I wanted—_needed _—to see.

"Gajeel," Master Makarov said, his eyes dark with sadness as he looked at me. I could see the answer in them—that Porlyusica and Wendy hadn't been able to help him.

That my son was going to die.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"In there," Master sighed, pointing towards the infirmary.

I rushed to the doors, but paused with my hand on the doorknob. Honestly, I was afraid. After six long years of being apart, we had finally come back together as a family. And now—I took a deep breath. _If I had just stayed away, this wouldn't have happened. They could have stayed in hiding, but I brought them back into the spotlight._ I knew deep down that none of this could have been avoided. Astaroth would have gone after Levy and Silas regardless of my intervention or not. _But it may not have happened like this._

Slowly, I opened the infirmary doors and went inside. I spotted Levy immediately. She was laying with her head on the mattress, resting on her folded arms. Her blue hair was laying around her, and I noticed some of it was slightly purple—stained from blood.

"Levy," I said, quietly.

"G-Gajeel," she whispered, lifting her head at the sound of my voice. My legs nearly gave out at the sight of her. While on the train, I had somehow fooled myself into thinking this whole thing had just been a joke, that none of it was real. But now, looking at her, I could no longer deny the truth.

Her left eye was swollen completely shut, and the skin surrounding it was a horrible yellow-purple color from the newly forming bruise. Her cheeks had abrasions all over them, and there was a larger cut right under her swollen eye. Her bottom lip was also busted, and I noticed as she stood that her legs were wrapped in bandages.

She ran to me, and I put my arms around her, holding onto her tightly when she began sobbing. "G-Gajeel," she chocked, "they—they—" She cut off, unable to finish.

For the first time since entering the room, I looked down at the bed she had been sitting beside. I felt my chest constrict, and I had to close my eyes.

After six long years, I had finally gotten the love of my life back—along with the most wonderful son anyone could ask for. And now that short-lived happiness was crumbling around me.

Silas looked deceptively peaceful as he laid there. My eyes fell on the wound in his chest, the one Porlyusica and Wendy had bandaged. If that had been the most serious injury, I almost would have been relieved. But it wasn't.

Astaroth had practically ripped Silas's soul in half, and that wasn't something you could recover from.

"I'm so sorry," I said, wishing I go back and change things. "I should have never left you."

"I'm the one who encouraged you to go," she sniffed. "You wanted to stay."

"I—"

"Auntie Levy!" Layla shrieked, bursting into the room. Lucy was close behind, followed by Lucy and Porlyusica.

"Layla!" Lucy hissed, grabbing the girl.

"Keep your voices down," Porlyusica snapped.

"Auntie Levy," Layla cried again, ignoring the other two women. She managed to free herself from Lucy's grasp, and ran over to us.

"What is it?" Levy asked, wiping her face as she looked down at the girl.

"I know how to help Silas!"

Levy's eyes widened as they shot up to mine, then went to Lucy's. "What do you mean?" She asked, finally looking back at Layla.

"When you and uncle Gajeel were bonded, you healed faster, right?" She looked between us, waiting.

"What are you gettin' at?" I frowned, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Bond me and Silas," she said, a determined look on her face.

I gaped at her, and the others did the same. "Layla," Lucy began, gently touching her daughter's shoulder. "Being bonded to someone is a very big deal—and it's a decision you're way too young to make. Besides, it doesn't work like that anyways."

"How does it work?" She asked.

"Only a hunter and a demon can be bonded together," I told her.

She frowned at me. "Silas and I are both half-demons, and we're both hunters. So it should work, right? We could be bonded?"

"The girl has a point," Porlyusica said. "She and the boy both fit the requirements."

"That doesn't change the fact that this is too big of a decision for her to make," Levy said. "Especially since we don't know if it will work. If it doesn't—"

"I'll die, too," Layla finished, sounding confident, as if she had thought all of this through already.

"No," Levy frowned.

"Silas saved me from Astaroth, so let me save him," she continued. She looked at her mother. "I have to do this. I can help him."

"Layla," Lucy sighed, kneeling in front of her daughter to meet her eyes, "being bonded to someone is a lifetime commitment. If it works, and Silas pulls through this, you will be bonded to him forever."

"Silas is my friend, so I don't care," she smiled.

"And if he doesn't, you will die. Tonight." Porlyusica told her.

Again, Layla smiled. "I know. But I won't because he wouldn't give up and let me."

"We'll have to talk it over with Natsu," Lucy said, softly. "He'll be here in a few minutes, since they took the train after Gajeel's."

"You're not considering this?!" Levy gasped.

"I believe in Silas," Layla said, looking at Levy, "don't you?" Before she could answer, Layla turned and left the room, going to wait for her father. Lucy and Porlyusica followed, leaving us alone once more.

"Gajeel, we can't let her do that," Levy told me. She looked over at Silas and tears filled her eyes. "I can't put Lucy and Natsu through this, too. Layla doesn't have to die, too."

"But what if she could save him?" I asked.

When her eyes met mine, my chest clenched painfully. They were filled with so much sadness and despair that I wasn't sure how to comfort her. "I can't get my hopes up. If I do," she paused, wiping away an escaped tear, "if I do, it will just hurt more."

"I know," I sighed, pulling her against my chest.

**_~Levy~_**

I knew the instant Natsu had arrived and Layla had told him her plans, because an angry shout shook the entire building. I knew he would be against it, and part of me was glad. If one of them could be spared, I wanted to keep it that way. There was no point in both of us losing a child today.

I was sitting by Silas's bed, holding onto his hand and stroking his cheek, while Gajeel went to make sure Natsu didn't burn down headquarters. "Layla is causing quite a scene over you," I told him, smiling. "I think it's safe to say she likes you."

"Shrimp," Gajeel said, coming into the infirmary.

"He said no?"

"That's an understatement," he chuckled.

I was about to reply when voices coming towards the infirmary cut me off. "I'm not going to let my daughter go through with something like this!" Natsu snapped.

"I'm going to," Layla snapped back.

"It's too dangerous!" Natsu told her.

"You would do it for mommy, right?" She asked.

"That isn't the point. I'm an adult, and you're a child."

"So?"

"Enough, both of you!" Lucy scolded as the three of them reached us. A sighing Porlyusica entered after them, grumbling about keeping their voices down.

"Levy," Natsu said, looking at me, "do you think this is a good idea?"

"No."

"There," he turned to Lucy. "No."

"You can't stop me," Layla informed him, "and we're wasting time."

"How much time does he have left?" Natsu asked Porlyusica, his anger instantly deflating.

"I'm surprised he's made it this long, to be honest," she admitted.

"That means there's hope!" Layla said. "He's fighting, so I need to help him!"

"No one even knows how to perform a bonding ceremony," Natsu sighed. I could see him giving in, and I wasn't sure how to feel about it. The hope of Layla being able to help Silas heal had my heart beating dangerously fast, but the fact that both of them would most likely die sent fear constricting it until it was hard to breathe.

"I do," Porlyusica said. "But only if the child is positive. It won't work if you aren't sure."

"I am," Layla immediately answered. She turned to her father, hugging him, then did the same to her mother. "I'm ready," she said.

"Layla…" Lucy trailed off, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Stand beside Silas," Porlyusica instructed. "Levy, you'll have to stand back."

I stood beside Gajeel, squeezing his hand tightly. Porlyusica took one of Silas's hands and one of Layla's hands in each of hers, then murmured under her breath. Because of the situation, the ceremony was different from the one Gajeel and I had undergone.

We knew the instant it worked, however, because Layla let out a small cry before collapsing. Natsu was there instantly, catching her. I noticed there was now a small symbol on her hand, as well as on Silas's. After going to his bed and returning his hand to mine once it was over, I noticed it was in the shape of a small black diamond, closely resembling the Inguz rune which was used for binding.

"What now?" Lucy asked, sitting on one of the infirmary beds next to Natsu as he held Layla.

"We can only wait," Porlyusica said.

"They'll be alright," Natsu said, looking at his daughter. "She's a strong little pipsqueak, so she'll kick Silas's butt into shape and they'll both be alright."

"Ya hear that, kid?" Gajeel said, taking Silas's other hand, "Layla's depending on you now. That means you have to keep fighting."

**_~Silas~_**

_It feels warm._ The sensation was strange, and I couldn't tell where it was coming from. _Am I dreaming?_ I wasn't sure, but I didn't think so. It felt as though I had been in this cold, silent, darkness for an eternity, so I didn't think it was a dream. _Am I dead?_ That could be it. I couldn't really remember anything.

_"Silas."_ The voice in my head was no longer Astaroth's, which was a relief. Since I had fallen asleep—or whatever it was I was doing—the voice had been a girl's. It was so familiar, but I didn't know who it belonged to. _"Silas, wake up!"_

Again, the warm feeling returned, this time a little stronger. It was coming from my hand. Yet, it was also coming from somewhere else at the same time. Whatever it was, it was calming. I had been in a lot of pain, and the warmth made most of it go away.

Again, I wasn't sure exactly _where_ the pain was coming from. It just hurt all over, and came from somewhere deep down.

_"Silas."_ The voice was more clear now, and images began playing through my mind as she spoke. _Blonde hair. Brown eyes._ More warmth radiated through me, and suddenly I realized who kept saying my name. _Layla!_

Memories flooded me, and I saw myself jumping in front of Layla, just as Astaroth's clawed hand had come down to stab her. Instead, his hand had gone through my chest. That meant Astaroth had taken his soul back. _Is that where the pain is coming from? His missing soul?_

I didn't really understand all of the details, but I did know it would be bad for him to remove his soul. Since he had, I assumed that's why I had been in this darkness. _So, am I dead, then?_

No. I couldn't be. I could hear Layla's voice, so I had to be alive. _Am I asleep?_ No, I still didn't think that was it, either. Her voice had been coming from inside my head, not from somewhere nearby. _But what does that mean?_

_"Silas, help!"_ More warmth came with her voice, and I suddenly didn't feel so heavy. I could also _sense_ her now. It was weird, but I knew she was close. And I knew she was in trouble. _I have to help her. But how?_ I didn't know how to get out of this darkness. I was stuck.

Suddenly, I felt a tug, and it seemed as though I were falling. When I finally landed, I took a deep breath, gasping slightly at how sore I was. _What happened?_ Hearing voices around me, I able to feel my body once again, I tried moving. All I was able to do was wiggle a couple fingers, so I focused on opening my eyes. Finally, it worked.

I blinked hard against the bright lights above me, and groaned a little as my eyes adjusted. Everything was so bright, and my body was so sore. Despite all of that, there was an urgent tug on my mind, so I forced my head to move, and I looked in the direction I could feel the tug coming from.

"L—Lay…la." I managed, spotting her laying on a bed directly beside mine. She was blinking back at me, and a large grin spread across her face.

**_~Levy~_**

"You need to eat something," Wendy said, touching my arm. "Silas and Layla will be alright for a few minutes. I'll watch them, and if anything happens I'll get you."

"Come on, Shrimp," Gajeel said, taking my hand. "We'll eat quickly, then come back, alright?"

Biting my lip, I allowed him to pull me away from Silas's bed. Lucy and Natsu followed us, being shooed away by Wendy as well.

"Eat," Gajeel said, noticing after a while that I was just staring at my food. I hadn't attempted to eat any of it. Honestly, I was too nervous to. I was afraid that if I ate, I would just throw it up.

"I'm going—"

"To eat something before you collapse," he frowned. "You haven't had anything in almost two days. Eat."

"It's been over three hours since they were bonded," I mumbled, pushing pieces of egg around on my plate with a fork.

"They just need time," Natsu said.

"They're awake!" Wendy rushed into the cafeteria, a smile on her face.

I abandoned my food immediately, sprinting to the infirmary. When I burst into the room, Silas's crimson eyes met mine. I rushed to him, pulling him into a hug as I kissed the top of his head. "I was so worried," I whispered, tears running unchecked down my face. Relief washed over me as I looked at him, taking in that he was awake—_alive._

"Mommy," I heard Layla giggle, and knew Lucy must have been doing the same to her daughter.

"What…happened?" Silas asked, his voice still think from being asleep so long.

"You were asleep for nearly an entire day," Porlyusica said, going to the other side of his bed. She looked up at me, "I need to examine him now. Layla is almost back to perfect health, so he should be nearly there as well."

I took a step back, allowing her to work. She finished quickly, assigning him a few days of bedrest before she left. Once she had gone, I sat on the bed and pulled him against me.

"I told you he wouldn't let me die," Layla giggled, sitting on Lucy's lap as Natsu sat on the bed beside them, along now with their other two girls.

"What?" Silas asked, looking up at me with a confused expression.

Layla held out her hand, the one with the symbol of their bond on it, and smiled. "We're bonded now, just like Auntie Levy and uncle Gajeel used to be."

He frowned. "Why?"

"Layla thought that, since your soul was damaged she would be able to help you if you were bonded. Because you're both Dragon Slayers, and you heal faster than normal humans, if you were bonded together, you'd heal even faster," Lucy explained.

"She could have died," he said, looking at her.

Layla smiled, shaking her head. "I knew you wouldn't let me."

"And she wouldn't take no for an answer," Natsu chuckled, ruffling his daughter's hair.

"Alright, let's leave Silas alone so he can get some sleep," Lucy told her girls. Natsu helped Layla stand, and she quickly came over to Silas's bed. I couldn't help but smile as she wrapped her tiny arms around him in a tight hug.

"Get better, okay?"

"Y-Yeah," he nodded, blushing. She giggled, taking Natsu's hand as they left.

"We should let him get some rest, too," Gajeel told me, standing.

"Want me to stay until you're asleep?" I asked.

Silas shook his head, yawning. "No."

"I'll be back later with something to eat, alright?"

He nodded, laying down as Gajeel and I made our way towards the exit. "What happened to Astaroth?" He asked.

I paused, smiling back at him. "He's gone, so you don't have to worry about him anymore."

Again, he nodded. I stood in the doorway, watching him as he closed his eyes and went to sleep. Wendy had healed his chest injury nearly all the way. She said there would most likely be a scar there, but the wound would heal within a few days.

"Is he asleep?" Gajeel asked when I finally shut the infirmary doors and came into the hallway.

I nodded, smiling. "It's finally over."

"I'm sorry we couldn't save Darrick," he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as we walked.

"Me too."

I had told everyone what had happened with Astaroth, how Darrick had taken over for a second, allowing me to kill him. They were all a little shocked at first to find out he was my half-brother, and I couldn't blame them. I was still trying to wrap my head around it. I did know, however, that I would be eternally in his debt. Without him, I may have died in that clearing, and Astaroth could still be alive.

"Shrimp," Gajeel said, coming to a halt.

I stopped walking and turned to look at him, frowning curiously at his suddenly serious face. "Yes?"

"I've been thinkin'."

"That's dangerous," I teased.

He grumbled as I laughed. "Really," he finally said.

"And what have you been thinking about?" I asked, smiling up at him. That smile faltered when I noticed how fidgety he was, and how he was looking anywhere but at me. "Gajeel?"

"Ah, damn it," he growled. "I'm no good at this."

"What are—"

He grabbed my hands, cutting me off when he met my eyes. "I want you to marry me, Shrimp."

"W-What?" I felt my entire face turning scarlet, and my eyes felt as though they would pop out of my head if I opened them any wider.

"I know it's not the best timing, but there doesn't really seem to be a _good_ time in this damned organization. I was plannin' on asking you after we got settled in here, but things turned to hell before I could. So, I wanted to ask you before anything else could go wrong. We don't have to get married right away. Hell, we don't even really have to get married at all if you don't want to. I just—"

"Gajeel," I snapped, getting him to shut up.

"Sorry," he mumbled, and I noticed a light dusting of pink across his cheeks.

I snorted, trying to hold back a giggle.

"What?" He growled.

"Yes," I beamed. "You shouldn't even have to ask."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Of course. God, yes!" I laughed when he pulled me into his arms, kissing me.

We broke apart when someone cleared their throat. "M-Master," I giggled, slightly embarrassed.

"I was coming to ask you about Silas. Lucy mentioned the children were all alright, but Silas was on bedrest. I can see you're quite busy, though." He raised an eyebrow at us, smiling a little.

"Shrimp just agreed to marry me," Gajeel announced, a large grin stretching across his entire face.

"That's wonderful news," Master smiled. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Gajeel beamed.

"You two should eat something while Silas is sleeping," he told us. "Then you can tell the others the good news."

"Gajeel," I said, taking his hand as we walked.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Levy," he said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

I couldn't stop smiling as we told everyone the news. After Silas woke up that afternoon, we told him too. He was probably the most excited out of anyone.

Although he wasn't allowed to move around much yet, and was supposed to be on bedrest, we were allowed to take him home for the night. As Gajeel and I tucked him in and told him goodnight, I couldn't help but sigh.

"What is it?" Gajeel asked.

"I'm going to miss all of this when he's older," I said. "Tucking him in, and kissing him on the cheek. I know it can't last forever, but I wish it could."

"Then let's have another," Gajeel said.

I looked at him. "Another baby?"

He nodded. "Why not? Before, back in the hospital when you thought you might be pregnant, I kind of liked the idea of having another kid."

I smiled, kissing him softly. "Silas would make a wonderful big brother, wouldn't he?"

"I'd say he's going to have his hands full with Salamander's daughter," he chuckled.

"You really want to have another baby?" I asked.

"I'd have as many as you wanted, Shrimp," he grinned. "I kinda like the idea of a big family."

"Two or three more _would_ be fun, wouldn't they?" I giggled.

"Well then, we'd better get started." I laughed when he scooped me up, carrying me to our bedroom.

I kissed him again, happier in that moment with him and Silas than I had been in a long time.

"I love you, Gajeel Redfox."


	21. Epilogue

**TEN YEARS LATER**

"Get back here, you stupid bolts for brains!"

"Why don't you learn to run faster, smokey?!"

"Silas, I'm going to kill you! I told you to stop calling me that!"

I laughed as I picked up the pace, easily out-running Layla. She was a strong fighter, but not the fastest runner. It didn't help that I was nearly a foot taller than she was. "Silas, seriously," she huffed, coming to a stop. She bent over, breathing hard. "Let me catch my breath."

"You're the one who didn't want to take the train," I chuckled, leaning against a tree as I watched her. I could feel how tired she was, so I didn't press her to keep going. Although our bond was annoying most of the time, it sometimes came in handy.

"Why don't you have Aiden carry you?" I suggested.

The blue Exceed flew above her, grinning. "Want me to carry you the rest of the way, Layla?"

"No way," she huffed. "I'm not going to be outdone by _him_."

"You can't win every time," I smirked, ruffling her blonde hair. She wore it in a braid that hung all the way down her back. A few blonde locks had escaped around her face where she had been running, and my ruffling made them stick up.

She quickly fixed them, walking passed me. I frowned, feeling something strange coming through the bond.

"What'd I do?" I asked, following her.

"I told you not to do that!" She snapped.

"What?"

"Spy on me," she pouted.

"I wasn't," I shrugged.

"Whatever. Let's keep going. If we're late, they're going to kill us."

"I told you the train would be faster," I grumbled.

"Too late," she said, running again. "Come on!"

We had gone on a last-minute assignment for Fairy Tail, taking care of a demon outside of Magnolia. Unfortunately, it had taken longer than we thought, so we were about an hour behind schedule. We were supposed to meet everyone back at headquarters for a surprise party celebrating my parents' 10th anniversary.

"I see it!" Layla cheered, pointing ahead. The Fairy Tail flag could be seen above the trees, telling us we were almost home.

"Finally," I breathed once we got inside.

"Where have you two been?" Lucy snapped, smacking the both of us.

"The demon took longer than we—"

"I don't want to hear any excuses," she frowned at me. "I told you to wait until tomorrow, but you didn't listen."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, crossing my arms. Although her blonde hair was greying, and there were wrinkles beginning to appear near her eyes and mouth, Lucy was still a fierce woman—one I avoided picking fights with. Especially since I was bonded to her daughter.

"Here they come!" Happy announced, silencing everyone.

Mom was laughing as the doors opened, and both she and dad gasped when we all jumped out, blowing horns and throwing confetti. "What's all this?" Mom asked.

"Happy anniversary, mom," I smiled, kissing her on the cheek. "The organization wanted to throw the two of you a party."

"Could'a warned me," dad frowned. I chuckled, knowing how he hated surprises. His black hair was streaked with grey, and so was mom's blue hair. Even after ten years of marriage, the two of them still looked at each other as if they were newlyweds though. While my youngest brother, Gale, thought it was disgusting, I admired their love, hoping one day I'd find someone I could look at the way dad looked at mom.

Lily, the second oldest, hugged mom tightly. Her blue hair was long like dad's, but she kept it back with a ribbon. Next was Darrick, who looked embarrassed when she kissed him on the cheek and ruffled his black hair. Gale, being only seven, stuck close to her side most of the time and arrived with them.

"Silas, wanna dance?" Layla asked, grabbing my hand.

"I hate dancing," I complained, following her anyways.

"You always say that, but you always dance with me," she giggled.

"Because you'd punch me otherwise," I grumbled.

She laughed, stealing the ribbon out of my short black hair before taking off towards the center of the room where everyone had gathered to dance. "Layla!" I fumed, chasing after her.

She stopped, handing me the ribbon and watching as I tied it back into my hair, using it to keep my bangs out of my face. "You're so cute," she giggled, then stopped once she realized what she had said. Her face turned several shades of red before settling on one that was darker than Erza's hair.

"Why're you so embarrassed, smokey?" I teased, patting her on the top of the head. "You used to call me cute all the time when we were little. You even told me you loved me," I chuckled.

"I-I was only six when I told you that!" She huffed.

"Gihi." I grabbed her hand, pulling her closer as I wrapped my other arm around her.

"W-What are you doing?" She asked, staring up at me, her face still adorably red.

"You wanted to dance, right?" I didn't quite meet her eyes, feeling a little embarrassed myself—though I tried to convince myself it was because of the effects of the bond.

She looked at our joined hands, and I sensed disappointment flooding through the bond as she held back a sigh.

I stopped dancing, causing her to look up at me. "What's wrong?" I asked.

She bristled in embarrassment, "I told you not to spy on me!"

"I can't help it when your emotions are practically screaming at me," I told her. "You might as well just come out and say it. What's wrong?"

She let go of my hands, taking a step back as she frowned down at the floor, her face growing an even darker shade of red. "I thought…I thought you were going to kiss me. Or at least say I was cute, too, or something," she mumbled, clearing her throat when she was done.

I could feel my face beginning to match hers. My throat seemed to go completely dry all of a sudden, and I tried swallowing several times before giving up. "Oh," I managed, rather pathetically.

"Forget it," she said, looking up at me with a false smile. "I know you didn't ask for this bond, and it's not like I expected you to feel the same."

"Layla—"

"I'm gonna go find Aunt Levy. I haven't given her my present yet," she said, rushing off before I could continue.

"You're about as good with women as I am." Dad was standing behind me, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"How was I supposed to know she was being serious all those times?!" I asked, feeling like an idiot. I'd known how I felt about Layla since I woke up and found out we had been bonded all those years ago. I always assumed it was just wishful thinking on my part that she would feel the same.

Dad sighed, giving me a hard shove in Layla's direction. "Don't just stand there feelin' sorry for yourself. You're the dumbass, so go fix it."

"Yeah," I nodded, running after Layla.

When I caught up to her, I grabbed her hand to keep her from running away again. "Layla—"

"Can I just be alone right now?" She snapped, turning on me, angrily.

Before she could say anything else, I grabbed her face and brought her lips to mine, kissing her firmly. When I pulled away, I knew there was a stupid grin on my face, but I didn't try to hide it. Her face was back to its color-changing, and she was stuttering something I couldn't understand.

"Sorry for being such a moron," I chuckled.

"Y-You—" She went silent, and I didn't need the bond to tell me she was deciding whether or not to kiss me again or punch me in the face. I was relieved when she picked the first one, wrapping her arms around my neck as she kissed me.

"Hey! Don't get any ideas, Redfox!" I heard Natsu ranting in the background as I pulled away to smile at Layla.

"So," I said, holding out my hand, "want to dance?"

"I'd love to," she giggled, taking my hand.

**_~Levy~_**

"They are _so_ getting married in a few years," Lucy smirked, standing beside me as we watched our children dance.

"I'm still counting on a little blonde granddaughter," I giggled. It had taken them long enough to confess to each other, but I was happy they finally had. And it was even more special because it had been on Gajeel's and my anniversary. _It's like an unconscious present from them to us,_ I thought to myself with a smile.

"Hey, Shrimp," Gajeel smiled, pulling me into his arms.

I laughed, leaning against his chest as we swayed slowly with the music. "I can't believe it has already been ten years," I sighed.

"You're even more beautiful now than you were back then," he chuckled.

"You're just saying that because it's our anniversary," I teased, poking him on the cheek.

He caught my hand, holding it to his face as he met my eyes. "I mean it, Shrimp. You grow more beautiful every day, and I thank God every morning that I get to wake up next to you."

I smiled, stretching to my tiptoes to kiss him softly. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," he grinned. "Happy anniversary, Levy."

"Happy anniversary, Gajeel."


End file.
